TMC Leader Abhishek Banerjee Criticises ECI Over Electoral Roll Revision and Silent Invisible Rigging Claims

Abhishek Banerjee of TMC criticises the Election Commission of India for its electoral roll revision, labelling it as 'Silent Invisible Rigging' aimed at excluding genuine voters before the 2026 Assembly elections. He warns that constitutional institutions will endure beyond current political powers.

Abhishek Banerjee, a leader from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), criticised the BJP-led central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. He alleged that this exercise was a "backdoor NRC" intended to remove genuine voters before the 2026 Assembly elections. Banerjee accused the ECI of acting like an "agency of the BJP".

Banerjee warned that while the BJP might be in power now, constitutional institutions will endure beyond their tenure. He stated, "The way the ECI is acting like an agency of the BJP, I am warning them, as a parliamentarian, that sooner or later the government will change. The BJP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah won’t stay, but the Constitution will."

Concerns Over Voter Deletion

He expressed concern that the SIR was not meant to include genuine voters but rather to exclude them based on political motives. Banerjee argued that this revision process was being used by the BJP to control who gets to vote. He claimed, "The BJP’s allied organisation has announced the SIR. Earlier, people used to elect the government. Now this BJP government wants to select who will vote or not."

The TMC leader questioned how BJP leaders could publicly predict that "one crore names" might be removed from Bengal's voter list during this exercise. He asked if they had predetermined this number for the ECI and suggested that if such a large number were indeed fake, all MPs from Bengal should resign.

Allegations Against Amit Shah and CEC

Banerjee also blamed Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for a man's suicide near Kolkata due to fears related to NRC and SIR. He demanded accountability, stating, "Pradeep Kar died due to anxiety over NRC and SIR. FIR should be filed against Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar."

He criticised the Centre's narrative on infiltration and questioned its timing with the revision process. Banerjee highlighted discrepancies in voter list removals in Bihar and demanded clarity on how many were foreigners. He argued that confusing Bihar with Bengal was misleading.

Criticism of Developmental Neglect

The TMC leader accused the central government of neglecting West Bengal in terms of development funding since 2014. He claimed funds were diverted to states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh instead. Banerjee pointed out that a railway project recently inaugurated by PM Modi had its foundation laid by Mamata Banerjee back in 2011.

He further accused BJP leaders of admitting plans for voter name deletions by assuring people their names would be reinstated if removed. This admission, according to Banerjee, proved that deletions were premeditated.

Challenges to BJP's Claims

Banerjee challenged BJP's claims of protecting Hindus by citing Assam's NRC results where many excluded were Hindu Bengalis. He cautioned against falling into what he termed as traps set by BJP narratives.

He criticised allegations that illegal migrants influence West Bengal's politics, calling it flawed and exposing incompetence within the Union Home Ministry. Banerjee argued that if infiltration occurred despite BSF oversight under Amit Shah's ministry, it indicated incompetence.

TMC's Electoral Confidence

Despite these accusations, Banerjee expressed confidence in TMC's electoral prospects for 2026. He stated confidently that even with SIR conducted, TMC would increase its seat tally in upcoming elections.

Banerjee warned of significant protests if eligible voters were deleted from lists during SIR. He asserted that one lakh people from Bengal would demonstrate at EC offices in New Delhi if any eligible voter's name was struck off.

The TMC leader criticised ECI for issuing SIR notifications without consulting state authorities and called its timeline unworkable. He held ECI responsible for potential chaos due to limited time given for complaint registration among 10 crore people.

With inputs from PTI