Naxalbari, March 25 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed that eight lakh names have been deleted from the first supplementary list of 27 lakh electors whose voting eligibility was being adjudicated as part of the SIR exercise.
Addressing an election rally at Naxalbari in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, she criticised the BJP for "causing misery" to the people by enforcing an "ill-planned SIR".
The chief minister demanded that physical copies of the supplementary list published online be made available immediately so that the information could be verified.
"I have been told that eight lakh names of 27 lakh voters under adjudication have been deleted from the first supplementary list. But where is that list? Why have hard copies of that list not yet been put up in government offices?" she asked.
"I can only verify the information after that list is displayed," she added.
The first supplementary list of around 60 lakh names of voters under judicial scrutiny was published by the Election Commission late on Monday night, but the poll body is yet to officially confirm either the total number of adjudicated voters in that list or the deletion figure.
Holding the BJP responsible for "220 deaths caused by SIR", the chief minister claimed that "the BJP should be ashamed of the consequences of SIR". She claimed that half of those who died were Hindus and the other half were Muslims. However, there was no official data or confirmation of deaths during the exercise to revise the electoral rolls.
Banerjee alleged that when elderly citizens were made to stand in queues for SIR and their citizenship was questioned, "how can the BJP dare to come to the same people seeking votes?"
She alleged that the EC, under the influence of the BJP, eliminated the names of Adivasis and Rajbanshis en masse from electoral rolls, and claimed that the TMC government had showered these communities with welfare schemes.
"Until I am around, there will be no NRC exercise in Bengal, and no detention camps will be allowed to be built," she declared.
