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Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Awadhesh Prasad on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's appearance before the apex court, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to delete voters belonging to marginalised communities in a "planned manner" across the country.
Speaking to ANI, Awadhesh Prasad said the issue was not confined to West Bengal alone and had wider national implications, particularly for Dalits, backward classes, minorities and the PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) sections. "It is good because it is not just a matter of West Bengal, but of the entire country. In a planned way, the BJP wants to delete the votes of Dalits, the backwards, minorities and the PDA on a wide scale," Prasad said. Referring to the constitutional right to vote, the SP MP invoked the legacy of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. "Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar has provided the right to vote (in the Constitution). There is no right more valuable than this. People of the BJP are harming this in a planned manner," he alleged. Prasad further claimed that similar issues were being witnessed beyond West Bengal, including in Uttar Pradesh. "Not just in Bengal, even in UP, votes are being deleted on a large scale," he said, raising concerns over the alleged impact of the SIR exercise on vulnerable communities. Earlier today, sharing an X post, the All India Trinamool Congress said it will stand as an example to the entire nation and the world. https://x.com/aitcofficial/status/2018916363461628044 "Standing up for the people, Hon'ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reached the Supreme Court. Today will stand as an example before the entire nation and the world," the post read. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard an emotionally charged challenge relating to the SIR of electoral rolls in Bengal, with Mamata Banerjee personally addressing the Bench and alleging large-scale wrongful deletions of voters ahead of elections. A Bench led by the Chief Justice heard multiple petitions, including one filed by the State of West Bengal, raising concerns about alleged discrepancies, time constraints, and the manner in which the SIR exercise is being conducted. The Court noted that the entire procedure is governed by a strict timeline, which had already been extended by ten days, and that only four days now remain. "We cannot grant the luxury of one more week," the Chief Justice observed, while emphasising that "every problem has a solution so that no innocent citizen is left out." (ANI)
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