West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday warned against a “mechanical” SIR process “using artificial intelligence (AI)” in a fresh letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the poll commission of disavowing its own previous mechanism, adding that the current approach is “arbitrary, illogical and contrary to the letter and spirit of the Constitution”.
In his third letter to the CEC since the Election Commission launched Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound West Bengal, the Chief Minister said the objective of the ongoing exercise appears to be “neither correction nor inclusion but only deletion and exclusion” of voters.
Referring to the ongoing public hearings on the second phase of SIR in the state, the Chief Minister said the process is “mechanical and driven by technicalities rather than the application of rational thought”.
“Such administrative failures are being unfairly imposed on the people, causing serious harassment of the public and also leading to the denial of their constitutional rights. This goes against the very purpose of the Special Intensive Amendment (SIR), which is to strengthen and purify the electoral roll, not to exclude genuine eligible voters,” she wrote.
He also said that the lack of proper approvals and receipts for submitted documents is creating problems for voters. “The lack of issuance of document approval leaves voters deprived of proof of submission and at the mercy of internal record-keeping deficiencies,” she wrote.
He said the use of AI tools to digitize manual voter lists in 2002 led to serious errors in electoral details, leading to many genuine voters being classified as “logically inconsistent”.
She also accused the Electoral Commission of ignoring its own legal procedures that have been consistently followed for 20 years, writing: “Why do we have to go back to 2002? Does this mean that all the amendments made in that time are illegal?”
The TMC chief also condemned the “harassment” of prominent nationals, pointing out that Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, actor and MP Deepak Adhikari, international cricketer Mohammed Shami and Maharaj of the Bharat Sevashram Sangh were “subjected to this haphazard, insensitive and inhumane process”. “Isn't this sheer audacity on the part of the EC?” she asked.
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The Prime Minister also criticized the treatment of female voters, saying, “Female electors who moved home after marriage and changed their surnames are being interrogated and summoned to public hearings to prove their identity.''
“This not only reflects a complete lack of social consideration, but is also a grave insult to women and real voters. Is this how constitutional authorities treat half of the electorate?” The prime minister called on the EC to immediately address the issue to “end the harassment and suffering of the people and public institutions” and protect democratic rights.
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