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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Ghosh on Saturday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of attempting to halt the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, asserting that the process would continue.
Speaking to the media, Ghosh claimed that Banerjee had met the Chief Election Commissioner several times with the sole aim of stopping the revision exercise. "She (CM Mamata Banerjee) has met and held meetings with him (Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar) so many times. Her only agenda is to stop the SIR. That's not going to happen," Ghosh said. He further added, "The SIR will be completed, and after that, the elections will also be held." Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday, raising serious concerns over the conduct of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision process in West Bengal. In her letter, the Chief Minister said that four IAS officers from the Tripura cadre had been appointed as observers through a letter dated January 10, 2026, in addition to five observers from the Centre and twelve from West Bengal. "Besides, four IAS officers belonging to the Tripura cadre have been appointed as Observers vide letter dated 10th January 2026, in addition to five other observers from the Centre and twelve from West Bengal. It is reported that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the ECI portal without any legal authority. They are allegedly manipulating data to subvert the roll revision process with ulterior motives. It is further alleged that this is being done as a backdoor mechanism for the exclusion and disenfranchisement of a large number of eligible electors," the letter read. Banerjee also alleged that thousands of micro-observers were being engaged unilaterally by the Election Commission of India (ECI) without adequate training or proven expertise for what she described as a "specialised, sensitive and quasi-judicial exercise". Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India to publish the names of voters categorised under the "Logical Discrepancy" list during the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Tamil Nadu. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant issued the directions while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the SIR process in Tamil Nadu on grounds of procedural irregularities. The Court said that the names must be displayed at gram panchayat bhawans, taluka offices in every sub-division, and ward offices in urban areas. Those whose names appear on the list may submit documents within 10 days from the date of display, either personally or through authorised representatives. The list must also mention brief reasons for the discrepancies. The Supreme Court further directed all district collectors to follow the Election Commission's instructions and deploy adequate personnel to ensure the smooth conduct of the SIR process. (ANI)
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