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Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday renewed her demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom she referred to as "Vanish Kumar," accusing him of "vanishing" voters' names from the rolls with SIR.
Addressing a rally in Hooghly, Banerjee said her party would protest until the issue was resolved and demanded compensation for voters left off the list under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). "Vanish Kumar must go; we will protest till the last time for this issue," she said, adding, "SIR list must back; those whose names were unlisted, govt should give compensation for loss." This comes amid a political row after a report by the Indian Express said that decisions taken on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process were objected to by two of the three Election Commissioners. According to the report, "Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued without their knowledge." The Election Commission has maintained that internal technical notes, written queries and suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. The ECI has asserted that all final decisions related to the SIR exercise were taken unanimously and carried the approval of all three commissioners. The Opposition parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Left parties, have intensified their criticism of the Election Commission, alleging concerns over electoral transparency and demanding accountability. Banerjee said, "I sent a message to Rahul Gandhi. As per the latest constitution, the club will most probably book a 30 September meeting schedule of the INDIA alliance." She also alleged obstruction on her way to the rally. "I got information before reaching here: a full jam in Uttarpara; people are being stopped from coming here to attend the program. I never blame the police, but ask yourself what you are doing. You threatened our workers' homes and arrested them; around 200 workers were arrested. I'm on house arrest, but thanks to Kalyan, I'm here in this program," Mamata said. (ANI)
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