Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday labeled the Election Commission of India a ‘WhatsApp Commission’ and alleged that the poll body issues informal orders through the social media platform to Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
“The Election Commission… sorry, the WhatsApp Commission… is doing all this. People’s names are being deleted. Bengal is being targeted,” she told the Supreme Court and, furthermore, accused the commission of being responsible for mass deletions of voter names in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of electoral rolls.
“Bengal is being unfairly targeted. People are being bulldozed,” she said.
Furthermore, she said that the SIR had resulted in arbitrary deletions due to “illogical mismatches.”
“SIR process is only for deletion. Mismatch not only in title… unplanned,” she said.
“Suppose a daughter after marriage goes to her in-laws’ house. Why is she using her husband’s title? That is also a mismatch,” Banerjee said.
“This is what is being done,” Mamata asserted, adding that names of daughters who shifted to their in-laws’ homes and poor people who moved temporarily were deleted “because of discrepancies,” she said.
“Four states are going to elections. Why, after 24 years, was there a hurry to do it in three months? The ECI is hell-bent on targeting Bengal as elections are due this year,” she said.
The Supreme Court has issued notices and asked for replies from the Election Commission and chief electoral officers of West Bengal ahead of the petition.
Banerjee’s lawyer and senior advocate Shaym Divan, as reported by Siasat.com, alleged a huge number of unmapped voters and said there was no time left for the remedial measures.
“Every problem has a solution, and we must ensure that no innocent person is left out,” the CJI said.
