TMC: Amit Malviya spreading ‘misinformation’ on SIR case

Kolkata: The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday launched a sharp counterattack against senior leader Amit Malviya of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing him of spreading “misinformation” over the ongoing legal proceedings concerning West Bengal’s electoral rolls.

In a detailed statement, the party asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court of India to defend “the democratic rights of the people,” noting that the court itself observed the move reflected “trust and faith in the Constitution.”

The TMC argued that questioning this step amounted to undermining the authority of the apex court.

The party further claimed that its leadership had consistently demanded judicial oversight to safeguard the sanctity of the electoral process. According to TMC, the Supreme Court’s direction to involve judicial officers vindicates its long-standing stand and highlights what it described as a “public trust deficit” in the functioning of the Election Commission of India.

Rejecting allegations that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) were replaced, the TMC maintained that the court had categorically upheld that EROs remain the statutory authorities empowered to take final decisions.

The party also questioned the Commission’s transparency, asking how many foreign nationals had actually been identified in Bengal’s rolls and why similar scrutiny was not being pursued with equal urgency in BJP-ruled border states.

Asserting that “institutions must prevail over political interference,” the TMC alleged a “BJP-ECI nexus” and maintained that it was defending constitutional principles against partisan influence.