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Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday called the Election Commission of India (ECI) a "WhatsApp Commission" and demanded that the constitutional body should apologise to the people of West Bengal, claiming that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive was to "harass" the state.
He also highlighted the reported deaths of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the SIR exercise. The draft voters' list in West Bengal was published under SIR last week. "During the SIR, 45 people lost their lives, and six were hospitalised. 29 BLOs (Booth Level Officers) attempted suicide. We asked the EC (Election Commission) five basic questions. But we didn't get a single answer from the EC. The EC told the media that they had given the answers," Banerjee said while addressing a presser here. He further questioned the ECI for sending a micro-observer to West Bengal and not to Gujarat. "SIR is a process to harass West Bengal. You send a micro-observer to Bengal, but why don't you send a micro-observer to Gujarat? It is being selectively implemented in Bengal. According to the EC's draft list, approximately 80 per cent of the data mapping has been completed, so why did the EC previously say that it was not possible to ascertain 40-50 per cent of the mapping? The EC should apologise to the people of Bengal. All policies are being made via WhatsApp; this is a WhatsApp Commission," Banerjee said. The TMC MP informed that he will meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on December 31 to discuss the details of the SIR list. He accused the ECI of hiding the "correct list" and of being associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Centre. Banerjee also flagged the "flaws" in the ECI application, claiming that one Seema Khanna is managing the ECI app. "I will personally meet Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi on December 31 and discuss the details of the SIR list. Why is the EC hiding the correct list? You are the Election Commission of India, not the Election Commission of the BJP. If you had a list of Bangladeshis, release the list; otherwise, apologise to the people of Bengal. Who is Seema Khanna, who is managing the ECI app? We have screenshots of her admitting flaws in the ECI app. If we don't get a response from the ECI by December 31st, we will gherao the ECI," Banerjee said. (ANI)
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