New Delhi/Kolkata, Dec 31 (IANS) Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of not giving any proper answer to the questions raised by the party delegation of MPs led by him on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal during a meeting at the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in Delhi.

“Last time in November, when we met the CEC and highlighted our points related to the SIR, we did not get any proper reply. This time also, we did not get any proper reply to the queries that we raised during the two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting,” Banerjee said while interacting with media persons outside the ECI office on Wednesday.

He said the Trinamool Congress would not tolerate what he described as the humiliation of the people of West Bengal in the name of SIR. “There will be no compromise on democracy. The fight to defend Bengal’s rights will continue, and not an inch will be surrendered to the anti-people BJP and its ally, the ECI,” he added.

Banerjee also accused the ECI of being vague about cases of “logical discrepancies”, referring to voters with doubtful family data detected during progeny mapping.

“The so-called ‘logical discrepancies’ built into the app at the electoral registration officer (ERO) and assistant electoral registration officer (AERO) levels must be corrected immediately. At the same time, the verification process must be conducted at the doorstep, not just for citizens above 85 years, but for all ailing and specially-abled citizens above 60 years of age. West Bengal will not allow its voters to be humiliated or disenfranchised under the guise of administrative exercises,” Banerjee said.

He said the delegation also raised objections over the Commission’s decision to bar booth-level agents (BLAs) from being present during hearings on claims and objections on the draft voters’ list.

“If party agents can sit inside polling booths on voting day, and if BLA2 representatives are allowed during the distribution of enumeration forms, why is BLA2 being barred during SIR hearings? Why is the Election Commission refusing to increase the number of hearing centres? When we asked for a formal circular on this issue, the Commission flatly refused because it knows that the moment a circular is issued, the matter will land in court,” he said.

“The truth is clear: votes are not being stolen through EVMs; they are being stolen through the manipulation of voter lists,” Banerjee added.

He further accused the ECI of maligning West Bengal by repeatedly raising the issue of infiltration.

“Before the SIR began, they claimed Bengal was flooded with one crore Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. Today, after 58 lakh names have been struck off the draft list, the Election Commission is silent. How many of them are actually Bangladeshis or Rohingyas? If the ECI has the courage, let it reveal the truth. If it doesn’t, it must apologise to the people of Bengal,” Banerjee said.

–IANS

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