Kolkata: TMC chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s ongoing dharna at Dharmatala’s Metro Channel saw a monk from the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission join the protest and raise allegations regarding the SIR voter verification process.
Banerjee requested him to show his documents and stated: “It’s a shame how this Nirjatan Commission is torturing even a monk who has his name even in 2002 voters roll.”
The monk, who introduced himself as the president of the Minakhan Ramakrishna Sarada Mission centre in North 24-Pargana, claimed that despite serving the organisation for more than a decade, his name was missing from the SIR voter list.
Speaking from the protest stage, he said he had been associated with the Mission for around 14 years but was surprised to find his name excluded from the updated records. According to him, the omission has caused serious concern, prompting him to personally approach the Chief Minister during the protest. The monk said that if such discrepancies continue in the voter verification process, it could have worrying implications for the country’s democratic system. He also expressed hope that the issue would be addressed and appealed for the removal of the SIR process, praying for “the victory of truth.”
Mamata Banerjee reiterated her allegations that several genuine voters have been wrongly marked as “dead” or removed during the revision process.
She claimed that as many as five lakh living people have allegedly been declared deceased in the voter list and said more such cases would be presented before the public.