Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday launched scathing attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) after the Supreme Court ordered the release of names under ‘logical discrepany’ category in Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Speaking a public meeting in Barasat constituency of North 24 Parganas, Banerjee declared that the “BJP’s SIR game is over,” asserting that nearly one crore voter names that were allegedly targeted for deletion had been saved following the Supreme Court’s order directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the list of voters flagged under the ‘logical discrepancy’ category.
Banerjee said, the verdict amounted to a victory for the people of West Bengal and a decisive setback for the Centre, while addressing the Rana–Sankalp Sabha in Barasat.
“BJP’s SIR game is over. One crore names that were targeted to be struck off have been saved, and the victory belongs to the people of Bengal. Our voting rights were being threatened, but the Supreme Court has given them a firm rebuke,” Banerjee said, directly linking the apex court’s intervention to what he described as an attempt to undermine democratic rights.
Referring to the court proceedings, Banerjee said the Supreme Court had accepted the All India Trinamool Congress’ long-standing demand for transparency in the SIR process. “Today I heard that the Supreme Court has accepted AITC’s demand and issued a verdict that the list of logical discrepancies must be published. As far as I know, BLA 2 will also be allowed in the hearing centre,” he stated, indicating that party representatives would now be permitted to assist voters during hearings.
Banerjee recounted that the Trinamool Congress had moved the Supreme Court after alleging sustained harassment of ordinary voters during the SIR exercise. “There was a hearing in the Supreme Court regarding SIR, with AITC having filed the case. Common people were being continuously harassed. The Election Commission attempted to strike off names,” he said. He also recalled a delegation’s visit to Delhi on December 31, when he, along with ten party members, met the Chief Election Commissioner to raise objections to the process.
“At that meeting, we suggested that the list of logical discrepancies be published. If they had published the list, the truth would have become clear,” Banerjee said, adding that the party had insisted on the presence of AITC’s Booth Level Agent-2 (BLA 2) at hearing centres. “We mentioned that BLA 2 of AITC would be present at the hearing venue, but ECI rejected it. We stated that if the guidelines were not released, AITC would not leave the hearing centre,” he added.
Striking a defiant political note, Banerjee framed the Supreme Court’s order as a broader ideological victory against the ruling dispensation at the Centre. “Today BJP and Modi have been defeated in court; in the coming days, they will be defeated by votes,” he said.
Drawing a sharp contrast between West Bengal and other states, he added, “This is not Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, or Gujarat. This land has shown the way to the freedom movement and the Renaissance. We never bow our heads to outsiders. The people of Bengal do not know how to sell their spine or live in slavery.”
Banerjee’s remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state over the SIR process, which the Trinamool Congress has consistently alleged is being used to selectively target voters. On January 13, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the SIR exercise has led to the deletion of 54 lakh ‘genuine voters’ from draft rolls further alleging that the ECI was ‘misusing’ its power. So far, CM Banerjee has written five letters to the ECI expressing her concerns about the ‘fundamental flaws’ in the SIR exercise. Each time her letter reiterated the election governing body of its disregard for its own statutory processes followed over the past two decades. She also alleged that the ‘logical discrepancy’ was not a part of the main SIR verification process. “It was an afterthought to add deleted names,” she said.
Names of eminent personalities like, Cricketer brothers- Md. Shammi and Md. Kaif’s names were removed from the SIR draft list based on logical discrepancy. Bengali filmstar and TMC MP Dipak Adhikari, poet, writer Joy Goswami, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, grandnephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandra Kumar Bose, and many more have been asked to appear for hearing due to ‘logical discrepancies.’
