Mamata terms EC ‘Tughlaqi’, alleges voter roll manipulation

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), calling it a “Tughlaqi” and “torture commission” and alleging that it was no longer functioning as a neutral Constitutional authority.

Addressing a Press conference at Nabanna, she claimed the apex poll body was acting like a member of a particular political party and attempting to ensure a pre-determined electoral outcome even before voting takes place.

Drawing parallels with Delhi Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and Adolf Hitler, she alleged the Commission had inflicted “torture” on Bengal’s voters.

“This is the torture commission. They are behaving like Tughlaq, committing atrocities like Hitler,” she said.

She questioned whether governments would be elected through the people’s mandate or whether results would be pre-decided through what she termed arbitrary conduct. Referring to elections in Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra, she claimed there had been complaints about the Commission’s role there as well and alleged “double standards” in West Bengal, particularly regarding document requirements for voter enrolment.

Banerjee said documents such as Permanent Residence Certificates issued by competent state authorities and Family Registers prepared by state or local authorities were being accepted in Bihar but not in Bengal.

Alleging irregularities in the voter revision process, she claimed that although hearings were to continue till February 14 as per directions of the Supreme Court of India, the Commission’s portal login was suddenly blocked around 3 pm that day. “This prevented the upload of names of many verified genuine voters and amounted to a violation of court orders,” she alleged, terming it part of a larger conspiracy to dismantle India’s federal structure.

She further alleged that nearly 58 lakh voters had been removed from the rolls using artificial intelligence with the help of a particular political party’s IT cell, referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party. She claimed many genuine voters were among those excluded and questioned the lack of clarity over who had been accepted or rejected.

“We don’t know what is going on. We don’t know whose names have been deleted. We are completely in the dark. There were over two lakh voters in my constituency, Bhowanipore. Forty thousand voters have disappeared,” she said.

Raising broader concerns, Banerjee asked whether the country was heading towards a Presidential form of government. She also criticised the suspension of Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), terming it a “threat culture,” and said her government would stand by the officials.

Stating that she had never seen the Election Commission function in this manner, Banerjee alleged its actions could “destroy the democratic fabric of India” and “bulldoze federalism.”

Over ECI suspending Bengal poll officials, she said that those who will be subjected to demotion will get promotion from the state government.