Suvendu Adhikari challenges Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on SIR exercise

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], January 5 (ANI): The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Monday challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
He sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, strongly refuting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's criticism of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
He shared a message on X. I have sent a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner, @ECISVEEP Shri Gyanesh Kumar, refuting Mamata Banerjee's desperate lies about the SIR exercise and her latest plea to halt it. Her so-called "concerns" about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is nothing but 'Pure Fiction'.
In reality, this ECI drive is throwing the spotlight on the TMC's dirty secrets: fake voters, ghosts of the deceased, and illegal infiltrators they've protected for years to rig the elections. It's crystal clear that Mamata Banerjee is panicking because SIR is a death knell for her 2026 dreams, Adhikari stated.
The Election Commission of India has been conducting the SIR to update and clean voter rolls, aiming to ensure transparency and credibility in the electoral process. The controversy highlights growing tensions between the state leadership and the central election authority ahead of the next assembly elections.
Earlier, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar flagging various issues related to the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
In her letter dated January 3, CM Banerjee alleged that officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI) misused IT systems, claiming that voter names were deleted from the backend without proper authorisation.
She questioned who sanctioned such actions and under what legal authority, emphasising that the ECI must be held fully accountable for any illegal, arbitrary, or biased activities conducted under its supervision.
CM Banerjee further criticised the ECI for a lack of clarity regarding the objectives, procedures, and timelines of the SIR. She noted that while the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no uniform or transparent guidelines.
She said that states appear to be applying different criteria and arbitrarily changing timelines, reflecting poor preparedness and a lack of procedural understanding. She also expressed concern about the frequent issuance of critical instructions via informal channels, such as WhatsApp or text messages, rather than through official written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders, which are required for matters of such constitutional importance.
"It is deeply disturbing to observe that even at the national level, the ECI appears uncertain about the precise objectives, modalities, and end goals of the SIR. Although the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no clearly defined, transparent, or uniformly applicable timelines. Different States are following various criteria, and timelines are being altered arbitrarily, reflecting a glaring lack of clarity, preparedness, and procedural understanding.
Shockingly, critical instructions are being issued almost daily, often via informal channels such as WhatsApp and text messages. No proper written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders, mandatory for an exercise of such magnitude and constitutional significance, are being issued," read the letter. (ANI)