Kolkata, Nov 28 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar ‘failed’ to answer five crucial questions raised by the Trinamool Congress on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by the Election Commission in West Bengal, claimed members of a 10-member Trinamool delegation that visited the ECI headquarters in Delhi to highlight their observations on the revision exercise in the state.

According to the leader of the delegation and leader of the Trinamool Congress’ Parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, the commission ignored repeated warnings from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the party’s general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, that completing the SIR process was impossible.

“Yet the ECI ignored repeated warnings on this count, and the human toll continued while following the commission’s orders that clearly prioritise partisan advantage over life and fairness. These horrifying incidents expose a chilling truth: the BJP, aided by a pliant Election Commission, is willing to sacrifice human lives for power,” O’Brien said.

He said the ECI had no answer to whether the real intention of the SIR was to detect fake voters or so-called “infiltrators”, and why Bengal was being targeted while other border states remained untouched.

The second unanswered question, according to O’Brien, was whether the voters’ list on which the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were conducted was faulty — and whether the current Union Cabinet, elected on the basis of that list, could be declared illegal.

According to four-time Lok Sabha member and deputy leader of the Trinamool Congress’s Parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Roy, the ECI had no answer on whether it would take responsibility for booth-level officers (BLOs) and some common people in West Bengal who died under “inhuman pressure” and “panic” arising from the revision exercise.

“Will the Election Commission take responsibility? Why is the Commission refusing to allow ‘Bangla Sahayata Kendra’ staff to assist with data-entry tasks?” questioned the actress-turned-politician.

She also accused the ECI of bending to benefit the BJP and completely ignoring the concerns of the opposition.

Two-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra claimed the commission had no clue about the number of BLOs who have committed suicide, unable to bear the pressure of the SIR-related workload.

“They do not know how many citizens have been pushed to despair. And when asked why this so-called drive against infiltrators is being forced only on Bengal, while BJP-ruled border states like Assam, Tripura and Arunachal remain untouched, the ECI had no explanation,” Moitra added.

–IANS

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