Mamata Alleges 1.20 Cr Names Face Deletion In West Bengal SIR
“SIR is underway. Many lost their voting rights. I'm sad. First, around 58 lakh names were deleted. Later 80 lakhs, instead of 50 lakhs, were marked hideously in the name of logical discrepancies which never existed in the rules,” Banerjee said.
Kolkata: Around 1.20 crore names would be dropped from West Bengal’s voters’ list if corrective steps were not taken, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Wednesday, amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Addressing a programme in her Assembly constituency of Bhowanipore, she claimed that large numbers of voters had been marked under the “logical discrepancy” category and faced deletion. She said around 80 lakh such cases were currently under scrutiny and vowed to ensure that genuine voters were not removed.
“SIR is underway. Many lost their voting rights. I'm sad. First, around 58 lakh names were deleted. Later 80 lakhs, instead of 50 lakhs, were marked hideously in the name of logical discrepancies which never existed in the rules,” Banerjee said.
She added, “If around 20 lakh aren't considered, still 1.20 crore names would have been dropped. I personally fought it out in the Supreme Court. My petition is still pending. But many days have passed since the order. I don't know what will happen after the final list is out on February 28.”
The Chief Minister alleged that work had not begun despite the Supreme Court’s direction to depute judicial officers to examine the discrepancy cases. She questioned the fate of the final voters’ list scheduled for publication on February 28.
“Even after February 14 as per SC rules, these Chhupa Rustam dropped 1.20 crore names hideously. The logins are with them. I want humanity for humans. I don't need to judge anyone by their religion or political affiliation,” she said.
Banerjee said she opposed removal of any genuine voter’s name and expressed concern over those who might find their names missing in the final list.
