"EC, BJP conducting NRC in garb of SIR": Akhilesh Yadav alleges harassment of common people in West Bengal

Howrah (West Bengal) [India], January 27 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday claimed that the Election Commission of India (ECI), along with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were conducting the National Register of Citizens (NRC) drive in the garb of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise while "harassing common people".
He further claimed that the ECI was conducting the SIR drive exclusively for West Bengal. The assembly polls in West Bengal are expected to be held in the first half of 2026.
"The responsibility of EC is to see an increase in votes, but for the first time, it is being seen that the EC and BJP, in the garb of SIR, are conducting NRC and harassing common people, and their aim is to cut more votes. Whereas their responsibility is to help the voters," Yadav said in a joint press conference here.
He lauded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said that in the entire country, if anyone was competing with the BJP, it was her. Yadav expressed confidence that the people of West Bengal would defeat the BJP and that Mamata Banerjee would become the Chief Minister again.
"If anyone is competing with the BJP, it's CM Mamata Banerjee. The SIR (Special Intensive Revision) they have brought is for West Bengal only, although it was also conducted in Bihar," he said.
The SP chief said that whenever elections are held, the EC runs a campaign to encourage more people to vote, but in the name of SIR, the opposite was happening.
"In Bengal, they are harassing CM Mamata Banerjee in the name of SIR. In the country, no one was bothered in past in the name of SIR. I am confident she will become the CM again. People of Bengal will defeat the BJP. They are playing with the secularism of our country. In UP, more votes are being cut. CM Mamata Banerjee has defeated the ED. The BJP has not recovered from the pain of the 'pen drive' incident," he further said.
On Sunday, Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of "snatching away" people's voting rights.
In a post on X, Mamata Banerjee said she is "deeply distressed" by the EC's conduct, alleging that the poll body is "harassing people" in the name of a "logical discrepancy" in voter lists.
"The Election Commission of India is celebrating National Voters' Day today, and what a tragic farce that is! The Commission working as His Master's Voice-- is busy now in snatching away people's voting rights, and they have the temerity to celebrate Voters' Day! I am deeply distressed and disturbed by their conduct today," she said.
"Instead of complying with the Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict and working as per rules and norms to provide and protect the democratic voting rights of people, ECI is finding newer and newer pretexts in the name of logical discrepancy to harass the people and try to deny them and take away from them their electoral rights," she added.
Referring to the BJP as EC's "master," Mamata Banerjee accused EC of "bulldozing the Opposition and destroying the foundation of Indian democracy, and yet they have the guts to celebrate Voters' Day."
Blaming EC for recent deaths in West Bengal, she said, "ECI, you are torturing people today in an unprecedented manner. More than 130 people have died because of your torture. Can you summon-- the way you are doing-- persons above 85, 90, 95 years of age, and even physically challenged persons to physically appear before you to prove their credentials? The stress caused by this kind of illegal pressure is leading to a series of suicides and deaths, and yet you are continuing to do this at the behest of your political masters." (ANI)