Mamata Banerjee accused the ECI of "acting like a stooge of the BJP" and questioned whether the voter verification exercise represented a backdoor attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. File Pic.
West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee on Thursday criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the poll body is isolating voters born between July 1987 and December 2004 by demanding documentary evidence of their citizenship under the guise of 'special intensive revision of electoral rolls', reported PTI.
Mamata Banerjee further accused the ECI of "acting like a stooge of the BJP" and questioned whether this move represented a backdoor attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Addressing reporters in the coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district, where she is currently stationed to oversee preparations for and participate in Friday's Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath from the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple, CM Mamata Banerjee stated she had called the press conference urgently to address this issue of "utmost concern."
She further revealed, "I have received two letters from the ECI, each comprising 25-30 pages. I haven't been able to go through them in detail so far. But from what I have understood from a cursory glance, the Commission is now seeking a declaration form from voters born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, which is Annexure D in one of the letters, where they will have to submit birth certificates of both parents as proof of citizenship."
The CM, expressing her bewilderment, stated, "I don't understand the reason behind the ECI move or the rationale behind selecting these dates. This is nothing short of a scam. I seek clarification from the Commission on whether they are trying to implement the NRC through backdoors. In fact, this looks to be more dangerous than the NRC which every political party in opposition must resist."
Banerjee also disclosed that while the letters were sent to the Bihar government, a copy was forwarded to her. She alleged, "Nothing will happen in Bihar because the BJP rules that state and the state elections there are at the doorstep. Their real target is Bengal. They want to delete the names of valid young voters. Many parents will not be able to furnish their birth certificates. They are targeting the migrant worker community of Bengal, students, villagers and uneducated voters."
The assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year.
"A dangerous game's afoot and it's alarming for our democracy," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo asserted. Banerjee further accused the ECI of acting according to the wishes of the BJP and openly challenged its authority to unilaterally impose such rules.
"How can the ECI do this unilaterally without consulting the recognised political parties at the central and state levels who play a key role in running the country's democratic structure? They are treating us like bonded labourers and doing this only to fulfil the wishes of a certain RSS pracharak who is now running the country for all practical purposes," the Chief Minister stated, implicitly referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah without naming him.
Referring to an alleged previous ECI notice that sought details of booth-level agents of the Trinamool Congress, she accused the commission of acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation at the Centre, rhetorically asking, "Why should I reveal the names of my booth agents? So that the BJP can purchase them?"
However alleging that the commission was aiding the BJP in enlisting individuals from outside the state as voters in Bengal, Banerjee urged a revision of ECI guidelines. "We ask the commission to rectify the voters' list by means of proper guidelines so that names of valid voters are not deleted. We ask the poll panel not to pressurise common people to accept their verdict. My humble request to the EC is that it should act impartially like it is expected to," she urged.
The Chief Minister further maintained that while Bengal was the BJP's primary target behind the ECI's actions, other non-BJP states would soon face similar scrutiny.
"This ploy is now clear as daylight. We are the first to respond. But I urge the other opposition parties to take serious note of this and build resistance," she appealed. Urging people to remain vigilant against such "attempts to snatch away their right to vote," Banerjee warned that the move would ultimately "backfire on the BJP."
However she concluded saying, "Citizens should keep a keen eye on their status in electoral roles till the very end. Else they might find their names struck off and sent to detention camps. That's the intention of the BJP," adding that the TMC "will build up people's resistance against this and we will soon hit the streets."
(With inputs from PTI)
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