West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Credit: PTI
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state is being run in an “unplanned and coercive” manner, putting citizens and officials at risk.
She also claimed that the SIR exercise has reached an "alarming" and "dangerous" stage.
Banerjee said she had “time and again” flagged her concerns over the ongoing SIR process, and told the CEC that she is now “compelled to write” because the situation has “deeply deteriorated”.
The chief minister alleged that the voters' list revision exercise is being “forced upon” people "without basic preparedness or adequate planning".
“The manner in which this exercise is being forced upon officials and citizens is not only unplanned and chaotic, but also dangerous. The absence of even basic preparedness, adequate planning or clear communication has crippled the process from day one,” the chief minister wrote.
Pointing to "critical gaps" in training, lack of clarity on mandatory documentation, and the "near-impossibility" of BLOs meeting voters during their livelihood hours, Banerjee said the entire SIR exercise has become “structurally unsound”.
The CM said the “human cost of SIR mismanagement is now unbearable”, citing the death of an anganwadi worker serving as a booth-level officer in Mal, Jalpaiguri.
She died by suicide, “reportedly under crushing SIR-related pressure”.
“Several others have lost their lives since this process began,” she said.
"Under these circumstances, I strongly urge and expect immediate corrective action," Banerjee added.