Kolkata, March 10 Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that the Supreme Court's intervention in the SIR exercise was a "victory for democracy and the people of Bengal", while launching a sharp attack on the Election Commission and the BJP over the alleged deletion of voters' names.
Addressing a gathering from the protest stage in Esplanade, Banerjee accused the poll panel of attempting to delay the voter list process and deprive legitimate electors of their rights.
"I applaud the journalists of Bengal who dared to ask tough questions to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They have proven that there is a difference between him and the 'godi media'. Unfortunately, he (Kumar) could not answer a single tough question," Banerjee said.
Referring to the hearing on the SIR matter in the apex court earlier in the day, he alleged that valid voters were being removed from the electoral rolls without being allowed to defend themselves.
"Our lawyers told the Supreme Court that because of the BJP's manipulation, legitimate voters are being removed from the list unilaterally without any chance to present their case. Voters are not even getting an opportunity to appeal to the EC," he claimed.
Banerjee also accused the EC of deliberately creating technical issues in its application system to delay the process.
"The Election Commission is intentionally creating glitches in its app so that the judicial process gets delayed and the preparation of the voter list is pushed back. The Supreme Court has reprimanded the commission for this," he claimed.
Banerjee also said that the court had directed that mechanisms be put in place to ensure that genuine voters do not lose their voting rights.
"To ensure that no legitimate voter is deprived, the top court has asked for the formation of an appeal tribunal bench with retired judges through the Calcutta High Court. This is a victory for democracy and for 'Maa, Mati, Manush'," Banerjee said.
Praising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said the court's observations validated TMC's stand.
"This is the victory of the path shown by Mamata Banerjee. It is the victory of the relentless struggle of the
Trinamool Congress and the blessings of the 10 crore people of Bengal," he said.
Banerjee also alleged that under the leadership of Gyanesh Kumar, the poll panel was trying to prolong the SIR process.
"Ideally, the process should have taken 15 days. But the EC is trying to stretch it to three or four months.
The Supreme Court has said that the Bengal case will be treated as special, and even till a day before the election, voters' names can be registered," he said.
He also claimed that the apex court had lost faith in the poll body's unilateral decisions.
The legal and political fight would continue until every eligible voter regained their rights, Banerjee said.
"This fight will end only when every legitimate voter gets back their right to vote. If anyone's name has been removed illegally, they should fill Form 6 to get re-registered," he said, adding that the apex court had assured strict monitoring of the process.
Appealing to party workers to assist people standing in queues at the district election offices and block offices to submit forms, Banerjee said help should be extended to everyone irrespective of political identity, religion or caste.
He also requested the chief minister to withdraw her ongoing protest.
"You have been sitting on the streets for five days, and your demands have been recognised by the Supreme Court. Therefore, I request you to withdraw the dharna," Banerjee said.
The TMC leader also said the party would intensify its political campaign across the state in the coming weeks.
"We have to make the BJP politically bankrupt in 80,000 booths. Mamata Banerjee and I will visit every Assembly constituency to ensure that the BJP does not get any opportunity," he added.
Banerjee later said in a X post that the sum total of Gyanesh Kumar's two-day visit was “nothing”.
Describing the top poll official as “Vanish Kumar” due to the “disappearance” of electors’ names from the voter list, Banerjee said, "He came. He saw. He left. That, in its entirety, is the sum total of Mr Vanish Kumar's much-hyped Bengal visit."
"The CEC had no answers to the inconvenient questions surrounding the unfair and unlawful deletion of genuine voters from the final electoral rolls, nor could he clarify the fate of the 60 lakh voters arbitrarily placed ‘under adjudication’,” the Diamond Harbour MP said.
He also accused Kumar of having failed to provide "any meaningful recourse or even outline a clear roadmap regarding the publication of supplementary lists and the inclusion of genuine citizens who have been wrongfully excluded”.
"But as history has always shown, no one remains above the Constitution forever. Those who believe themselves to be above the Constitution inevitably face the long arm of the law," he said.