Trinamool Congress targets Election Commission; says SIR has become 'Software Intensive Rigging'

EC is making the electoral process a 'burden' for common man, says party leader Derek O'Brien

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday targeted the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), claiming that it has become "Software Intensive Rigging", a day after the Supreme Court asked the poll body to ensure that the electoral roll revision exercise should be transparent and not cause inconvenience.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party has been up in arms against the exercise, though it maintains that it is principally in favour of SIR, while highlighting that around 1.25 crore people have been asked to appear for hearing to provide evidence for their right to vote after "logical discrepancies" were found in their enumeration forms.

"What does SIR stand for? It is Software Intensive Rigging. The EC is one of the greatest institutions of India that keeps democracy vibrant for so many decades. What is happening now is a dismantling of this great institution. All we seek is transparency...We are for SIR, which is transparent, planned and humane," Trinamool Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien told reporters.

Insisting that the Chief Election Commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar) has a role to play and he cannot be "hangman and executioner", he asked why was the EC making the electoral process a "burden" for common man.

"What software are you using (for SIR)? Why is it revised constantly? Who makes this software?" O'Brien asked while questioning the issuance of notice to voters citing logical discrepancies, which included instances of a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and their parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.

He referred to the case of a woman's family, who is running around to get their name included despite her grandfather being an Ashoka Chakra winner.

Trinamool Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Sagarika Ghose said the EC should work impartially and not work for political parties. "There is no transparency, it (SIR) is hurriedly done. The elderly and the rural folks are in trouble," she said, alleging that the SIR in Bihar was just a start but the "real target" was West Bengal.

"There is a conspiracy to snatch votes. The EC's duty is to protect the right to vote, not snatching votes," she said. Both the leaders demanded that the EC release the transcript of the nearly four-hour-long meeting Abhishek Banerjee-led Trinamool delegation had with the EC on December 31 last year.