Naxalbari, March 25
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday stated that eight lakh names had been removed in the first supplementary list out of 27 lakh electors whose voting eligibility was examined under the SIR exercise.
While addressing an election rally in Naxalbari, located in the Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling district, she criticised the BJP, accusing it of “causing misery” to people through what she described as an “ill-planned SIR”.
The chief minister also demanded that physical copies of the supplementary list, which has been published online, be made available immediately to allow proper verification of the details.
“I have been informed that eight lakh names out of 27 lakh voters under adjudication have been deleted from the first supplementary list. But where is that list? Why have hard copies not yet been displayed in government offices?” she questioned.
“I will only be able to verify the information once the list is made public,” she added.
The Election Commission released the first supplementary list late on Monday night, which includes around 60 lakh names of voters under judicial scrutiny. However, the poll body has not officially confirmed either the total number of adjudicated voters in the list or the number of deletions.
Blaming the BJP for “220 SIR-induced deaths”, the chief minister said the party “should be ashamed of the consequences of the SIR”. She further claimed that the deceased included equal numbers of Hindus and Muslims. However, there is no official data or confirmation regarding any deaths linked to the electoral roll revision process.
Banerjee also alleged that elderly citizens were made to stand in long SIR queues and had their citizenship questioned, asking how the BJP could then approach the same people for votes.
She further accused the Election Commission of acting under BJP influence and claimed that names of Adivasis and Rajbanshis were removed from electoral rolls in large numbers. She added that the TMC government has provided extensive welfare support to these communities.
“While I am in office, there will be no NRC exercise in Bengal, and no detention camps will be allowed,” she asserted.
