SIR battle in Bengal: EC warns TMC against threatening BLOs; rebuts claims about deaths

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India on Friday rejected the Trinamool Congress’ claim that around 40 people have died in West Bengal due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, dismissing the allegation as baseless while cautioning the party against interfering with booth officials.

The Commission also directed the West Bengal DGP and the Kolkata Police Commissioner to ensure Booth Level Officers are not threatened or pressurised during enumeration, and instructed district authorities to safeguard the independence of BLOs, EROs and DEOs engaged in the process.




The 10-member TMC delegation, led by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, met the EC top brass and accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of having "blood on his hands". EC officials said they told the MPs that while political messaging is a party’s prerogative, misinformation on election procedures cannot be permitted. "EC also told the delegation of TMC not to influence or threaten the BLOs regarding dead, shifted and duplicate voters," an official said.

TMC, however, disputed the Commission’s version, calling its statements "misleading" and "outright lies". National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the poll body of "deliberately planting selective leaks" and demanded that the EC release "CCTV footage" of the meeting along with "every piece of evidence it claims to possess". O’Brien said, "None of this was said to us at the meeting. In the morning, we told them they have blood on their hands. Now we say they are a bag full of lies. What a shame they are bringing to this constitutional body. They should issue a press release."

O’Brien stated that the party had placed five questions before the Commission but received no answers. "We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on his hands. We raised five questions," he said. "The CEC spoke uninterrupted for one hour... but we did not receive any answer to any of our five questions." A TMC attendee claimed the CEC spent nearly half the time discussing the SIR in Bihar, saying, "Of the one hour he spoke, he devoted half to praising the job done in Bihar. He said, 'You can apply for corrections in the next two months,' and spent the rest of the time explaining the basics."

The TMC delegation submitted a list of 40 alleged SIR-linked deaths, which the EC termed unverified. Mahua Moitra said, "We began by presenting a list of individuals whose deaths we believe are linked to the SIR process... The CEC said that these are merely allegations." Party leaders also questioned why the revision was not being undertaken in Northeastern states that share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar, and asked how the electoral roll used in the last Lok Sabha polls had become "unreliable".

They further flagged apprehensions over deletion of voter names and accused BJP leaders of claiming that one crore names would be removed. "The ECI has taken no cognisance of these comments, nor have they negated the dear mongering by the BJP," a TMC leader said. A party source claimed they have recorded 60 tragedies linked to the process, including 41 civilians and 19 BLOs.

The SIR exercise is underway in 12 states and Union territories, including West Bengal. The delegation comprised MPs Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale and Prakash Chik Barik.
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