Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Sunday criticised Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over statements made during a press briefing on the
Bihar electoral rolls.
Moitra described the CEC’s claims as “absolutely ridiculous ” and questioned the accuracy of the voter lists. She claimed that the CEC said there are 22 lakh deceased voters in Bihar’s electoral rolls and such persons did not die in the past six months but over the past several years. However, it was not put on record.
Moitra countered that if that was indeed the case, then EC ought to be reminded that there were summary revisions of electoral rolls in Bihar every single year. Last revision was in April 2025. Hence, action should be taken against the EC and every other CECs before Kumar for dereliction of duty and subverting free and fair elections.
She directly held the Election Commission accountable, stating: “The entire Election Commission, including yourself and every Chief Election Commissioner before you, should be held responsible for dereliction of duty and for subverting free and fair elections.
You were in your seat, Mr. Kumar. Your office was responsible for ensuring accurate voter rolls.”
Moitra also challenged the CEC’s suggestion that Opposition parties were spreading misinformation. She pointed out the lack of transparency in the process of reviewing the draft voter lists. According to Moitra, political parties were expected to file claims and objections regarding deletions, but the names of 65,000 allegedly removed voters were not made public until the Supreme Court intervened. She asked: “How could objections be filed if the affected voters themselves did not know they were missing?”
The MP concluded by accusing the Election Commission of acting as a “puppet in the hands of the BJP” and urged it to refrain from spreading misleading information. “Hon’ble CEC Gyanesh Kumar—Sir—please don’t assume our average IQ is the same as that of the BJP cadre. It is absolutely shameful,” she said.