Mamata Banerjee flags "institutional overreach", voter disenfranchisement risk to CEC over SIR in Bengal

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 1 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar raising serious objections to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, alleging that the exercise has inflicted widespread public suffering and dangerously eroded trust in democratic processes.
Sharing an X post on Saturday, All India Trinamool Congress wrote, "Smt. @MamataOfficial has written to the Chief Election Commissioner sounding the alarm on the ongoing SIR in Bengal, warning that the exercise has inflicted widespread public suffering and dangerously eroded trust in democratic processes. She has strongly objected to the deployment of nearly 8,100 Micro-Observers, pointing out that their roles, powers, and authority have no basis in existing election laws. Even more alarming, she has flagged that certain observers are unlawfully accessing and controlling the @ECISVEEP ERONET portal, manipulating data in ways that could disenfranchise legitimate voters. She has urged the CEC to intervene immediately to halt this institutional overreach, restore public faith in constitutional bodies, and safeguard citizens' dignity, rights, and democratic freedoms."
https://x.com/AITCofficial/status/2017650920541282553
In a letter, Banerjee warned that the manner in which the SIR is being conducted has "inflicted immense inconvenience and agony to the people," claiming that the exercise has resulted in "as many as 140 deaths" and has been carried out "in blatant violation" of the Representation of the People Act and the rules framed under it.
"I am again constrained to write to you regarding the methodology and approach, beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Rules framed thereunder, being followed in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Electoral Rolls in West Bengal," Banerjee wrote.
The Chief Minister strongly objected to the deployment of approximately 8,100 Micro-Observers during the SIR process, calling it unprecedented in India's electoral history. She said these Micro-Observers were being "unilaterally engaged by the ECI without adequate training or demonstrated expertise" for what she described as a "specialised, sensitive and quasi-judicial exercise."
"The role, functions and authority of Micro-Observers during electoral roll revision are neither defined, contemplated nor authorised under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 or any other statutory instrument," Banerjee wrote in a letter.
Trinamool Congress Supremo asserted that statutory responsibility rests solely with Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers. Banerjee further alleged that certain observers were unlawfully accessing and controlling the Election Commission's Electoral Roll Officers' Network (ERONET) portal.
"It is reported that some observers are functioning from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, and have taken control of the ECI portal without any legal authority. They are allegedly manipulating data to subvert the roll revision process with ulterior motives," the letter read.
She further warned that this could lead to the "exclusion and disenfranchisement of a large number of eligible electors."
The Chief Minister questioned whether these observers were empowered under law to act as approving authorities or were merely meant to oversee the process. She asked whether statutory officials were being "rendered helpless, isolated and reduced to mere spectators" in the face of what she described as "illegal, unauthorised and unwarranted actions."
Banerjee also flagged what she termed the selective application of rules in West Bengal, noting that similar deployments of Micro-Observers had not been undertaken in other states undergoing SIR. "For West Bengal, it appears that an entirely different set of rules is being applied, contrary to statutory provisions," she said.
Calling the situation "wholly against our democratic ethos, federalism and fundamental rights," Banerjee urged the Chief Election Commissioner to intervene immediately to halt the exercise, restore public faith in constitutional bodies, and safeguard citizens' dignity, rights and democratic freedoms.
The politics has heated up in Bengal as the state is scheduled to hold Legislative Assembly elections later this year.