"Those who object fear losing:" Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on SIR process

Speaking to reporters, the Union Minister highlighted that the SIR process is initiated every decade. He criticised those opposing it, alleging they fear the "cleansing" of the voter list.

"...As far as SIR is concerned, this is not happening for the first time; it has been happening in every decade. Those who object to it are the ones who fear the (voter list) cleansing, or fear the proper voting process, or fear losing... This is democracy, and the decision of the people is paramount for all of us..." said Scindia.

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of deleting voters' names from the electoral roll using artificial intelligence on the behest of the BJP.

Addressing a press conference in Howrah, Mamata Banerjee held the BJP responsible for the alleged deaths during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the voter lists in the state.

The Chief Minister said, "84 people died till this morning; 4 died by suicide, 17 lost their lives due to brain stroke or heart stroke after getting SIR notice. The Election Commission should take responsibility for all these deaths. BJP should take responsibility for all these deaths; even Duryodhana and Dushasana should take responsibility for these deaths. Names are deleted through AI on the BJP's instructions. As per our knowledge, there is a plan that people from Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha are entering here and voting in Bengal."

Further, the TMC leader called the ECI's 'logical discrepancies' claim a "dubious category", forcing 1.36 crore voters to face hearings.

"Acting at the behest of the BJP, ECI carried out SIR in Bengal in a reckless and ill-planned manner, resulting in the deletion of nearly 58 lakh names from the electoral rolls. When even this massive purge failed to satisfy the BJP's political objectives, a new and dubious category called 'logical discrepancies' was invented, forcing 1.36 crore voters to face hearings without the Commission even disclosing the complete list of names. Still unsatiated, the BJP has now escalated this assault on democracy by ferrying in people from other states, loading vehicles with thousands of Form 7, and coercively submitting them to engineer the mass deletion of genuine voters," Mamata told reporters.

Reacting to Mamata Bannerjee's statement, Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal said she still has the option to approach the Election Commission if she believes any voter's name has been removed improperly.

Speaking to ANI, Jaiswal said, "There is still a chance today. If Mamata Banerjee ji feels that even one voter's name out of 54 lakh has been removed improperly, she can go to the Election Commission." (ANI)