Kolkata, Dec 22 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday criticised the Election Commission of India over the alleged gross errors in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

Speaking at a meeting of booth-level agents of her party, Trinamool Congress, at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, in Kolkata, Banerjee also claimed that the poll panel appointed observers without informing the state government.

“The Election Commission is working as per the directions of the BJP. There are gross errors in the mapping of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the State. The SIR was held in an unplanned manner,” said Banerjee.

The Chief Minister also said that central officers who have been appointed micro observers for SIR hearings have little knowledge of the local language and are not trained to conduct the verifications during the second phase of the ongoing SIR exercise.

“ECI appointed observers without informing the state. Micro-observers came as BJP supporters from Delhi who neither understand Bengali, Lepcha, nor Nepali—they just came to work. These people want to conduct hearings; please provide them with proper hearing equipment,” she said.

The Trinamool Congress supremo further said, “The address change in the delimitation is invalid. The marriage is invalid. The difference in the name-spanning in the Bengali-English is invalid. Who gave you this right? BLAs have a big responsibility. They have to ensure that citizens do not face any issues during the hearing process.”

Banerjee also claimed that the BJP wants to remove the names of 1.5 crore voters in West Bengal. “They want to destroy democracy. I saw 50 motorbikes with Bihar registration numbers being delivered in Burdwan yesterday. They are trying to bring people here from outside for the elections. All BLAs should consult MLAs, councillors, and block presidents regarding SIR.”

She further said, “The BJP Government will use the Election Commission to control Bengal and disrespect its people. Attempts are being made to undermine Bengal and uproot its culture. These are all tactics of the BJP government. Assembly elections in 2026 will be a farewell for the BJP in Bengal. I am not afraid of the BJP government. I urge everyone to make them (the BJP) zero. If you respect me, my struggles, and my sacrifices, then we will win this election. We will uproot the BJP government and throw the BJP out of Bengal.”

–IANS

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