National News Desk (VOC) :

Political tensions escalated sharply in the national capital on Tuesday as West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee launched a fierce attack on the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Banerjee alleged that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being misused to deliberately delete the names of legitimate voters in a politically motivated manner. She claimed the process was designed to benefit a “particular political party” and undermine democratic rights.

“People don’t even know how their voting rights are being taken away. AI is being used to remove names secretly,” Banerjee said. She accused the Election Commission of turning the electoral process into a “mockery of democracy.”

The controversy has now reached Parliament, with opposition parties preparing to initiate impeachment proceedings against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Sources indicate that the proposal may be introduced in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. TMC has already begun consultations with Congress and other opposition parties on the issue.

Banerjee cited alarming figures from her constituency Bhabanipur, alleging that nearly 40,000 voter names were deleted. She further claimed that in TMC-dominated constituencies, attempts are being made to remove between 80,000 and 100,000 names, while BJP strongholds witnessed far fewer deletions.

“Earlier, people decided who would govern through voting. Now the BJP wants to decide who qualifies as a voter,” she remarked sharply.

Making explosive allegations, Banerjee said BJP workers were directly involved in the voter list revision process. She named a BJP activist, Seema Khanna, accusing her of using AI tools to delete voter names with the Election Commission’s consent. She also expressed shock that eminent personalities such as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and poet Joy Goswami reportedly received SIR notices.

During her Delhi visit, Banerjee openly supported the impeachment move against the Chief Election Commissioner. “We may not have the numbers, but the Constitution allows it. At least history will record that we raised our voice in public interest,” she said.

Responding to the opposition’s move, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar dismissed the impeachment proposal, saying, “Anyone can bring such a motion, but where are their numbers? The people of India have not chosen them.”

Banerjee concluded her press conference with a political message to Delhi-based journalists, saying, “We will meet again after victory. I will offer sweets — not Delhi’s laddoos, but Bengal’s sweets.”

On the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, Banerjee said, “I am not a political astrologer, but we will win with more seats.” Standing beside her, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee clarified, “We are not against voter list revision. But this unplanned and flawed SIR process is unacceptable.”

On alliance politics, Banerjee made it clear that TMC will contest the Bengal elections alone. “We will not leave the field. Not even an inch,” she declared.

The press conference made it evident that the battle over SIR is set to intensify, turning voter list revision into a major flashpoint in Bengal and national politics in the months

National Desk : Voice of Calcutta