Senior MP Kalyan Banerjee raised the issue of the Commission not responding to letters from Chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress on Friday launched a fierce attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of failing to answer key questions on the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process currently underway in West Bengal. After a two-hour meeting with Chief Election Commissioner J. Gyanesh Kumar at the Election Commission headquarters in Delhi, the ten-member TMC delegation alleged that none of their five core questions received a clear response and that the deaths linked to the SIR process had left a “stain of blood” on the hands of the CEC.
Acting on party chief Mamata Banerjee’s instructions, senior TMC MPs—including Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra and Shatabdi Roy—met the CEC around 11 am. Emerging from the meeting visibly angered, Derek O’Brien said the Commission “failed miserably” in responding to their queries. “The blood of those who died due to the pressure of SIR is on the hands of the Chief Election Commissioner,” he said, adding that the Commission spent almost 40 minutes narrating “stories” instead of addressing direct questions.
Shatabdi Roy, speaking on behalf of the delegation, said they asked the ECI why the SIR process was being selectively used against Bengali-speaking populations if it was meant to curb illegal infiltration. She questioned why states like Mizoram and Tripura were exempt from the same process and how the BJP could claim that one crore names would be removed from the voters’ list without the Commission objecting. Roy further demanded to know whether the ECI would take responsibility for the 40 deaths allegedly linked to the SIR exercise and what arrangements the Commission had made for the affected families. “If illegal voters elected the Modi government, where does its legitimacy stand?” she asked.
According to sources, the meeting began on a confrontational note. Derek O’Brien reportedly told CEC Gyanesh Kumar, “You have blood on your hands,” before Shatabdi Roy handed him a list of people who allegedly died due to the SIR process. Initially smiling, the CEC was said to have turned serious after going through the list, claiming he was “unaware” of the details. Senior MP Kalyan Banerjee raised the issue of the Commission not responding to letters from Mamata Banerjee, despite her holding office as a three-term Chief Minister and former Union minister. Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Thakur highlighted documentation issues faced by the Matua community and demanded that Aadhaar be accepted as a valid document. MP Pratima Mondal flagged multiple technical errors in the SIR process.
Party insiders revealed that Mamata Banerjee herself briefed the MPs for nearly 40 minutes over phone on Thursday night, outlining the strategy for the meeting and instructing them to adopt a firm, uncompromising approach. Before visiting the ECI office, the MPs held a short huddle at the party’s Delhi office to finalise their stance. TMC had earlier announced—through Abhishek Banerjee—that it would launch a major anti-SIR movement in Delhi. Although the Commission permitted only five members to attend the meeting, TMC insisted that all ten MPs would go. Sources said the party was also prepared to stage a sit-in protest inside the ECI premises if permission was denied; posters and banners had already been arranged and will now be used during the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.
The TMC MPs told the Commission that they did not oppose SIR as a concept, but condemned the hurried, poorly planned rollout, calling it “inhuman” at a time when agricultural labourers are out of their homes during post-monsoon work.
After the meeting, the delegation reiterated that not a single question had been satisfactorily answered. Later that night, statements attributed to ECI sources began circulating, outlining steps such as protection for BLOs, instructions to police on ensuring their safety, the relocation of the CEO West Bengal’s office due to security breaches, and the Commission’s reminder that only Indian citizens are eligible to vote under Article 326 of the Constitution. Derek O’Brien countered that none of these points were mentioned during the actual meeting, accusing the Commission of attempting to manage the narrative after being cornered.
The political confrontation over SIR shows no sign of easing, with TMC signalling an intensified protest both in Delhi and inside Parliament in the coming days.
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