Kolkata : Political tension in West Bengal has escalated over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on February 2 at 4 PM. According to Election Commission sources, the Chief Minister will be accompanied by a delegation of up to 15 members.

The meeting comes amid growing allegations of large-scale harassment of ordinary citizens during the SIR verification process. Mamata Banerjee has earlier written at least five letters to the Election Commission, raising concerns over what she describes as arbitrary exclusion of genuine voters from the electoral rolls.

Recently, the Chief Minister indicated that the situation had become serious enough for her to personally intervene. Leaders of the Trinamool Congress have already approached the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal with formal complaints, which were subsequently forwarded to the Election Commission of India.

Addressing a public gathering in Singur, Mamata Banerjee accused authorities of undermining democratic principles.

“People are being removed from voter lists in the name of verification. Why is there no trust in the citizens? Will a few officials decide who is a voter and who is not? In a democracy, the people decide who forms the government, not bureaucratic processes,” she said.

The opposition, however, has taken a sharply contrasting position. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, speaking at a rally in Durgapur, defended the SIR process and claimed that the revision was necessary to remove fake and illegal entries from the voter rolls.

“The final voter list will reveal the truth. Dead voters, non-existent voters and illegal infiltrators must not be allowed to remain on the rolls,” he stated.

Meanwhile, disturbing images have emerged from various districts showing elderly citizens and persons with disabilities struggling to attend verification hearings. In several places, daily wage workers have reportedly been forced to stand in long queues for hours, losing their livelihoods for the day.

As political blame games continue, the SIR issue has now become one of the most contentious subjects in West Bengal politics. With the Chief Minister preparing to hold direct talks with the Election Commission, all eyes are on whether the concerns of the state government and the suffering of ordinary voters will lead to any change in the ongoing process.

News Desk : Voice of Calcutta