Kolkata, February 18 Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of flouting Supreme Court directives, alleging that poll officials were continuing to issue instructions to their subordinates via WhatsApp during the Systematic Area Verification (SAV) exercise in West Bengal.
Sharing purported screenshots of a WhatsApp group chat on X, Banerjee said the Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized transparency, due process, and adherence to official communication channels.
"Yet, we are witnessing instructions being circulated via WhatsApp rather than through formal, traceable, and accountable mechanisms," he said.
He also questioned instructions sent by Special Roll Observer C Murugan directly to micro observers.
"Even more concerning are credible reports that Special Roll Observer, C. Murugan, was issuing instructions regarding the acceptability of birth certificates directly to Micro Observers in a WhatsApp group, to inflate deletion numbers. Should I remind the ECI of the Supreme Court's categorical directive that the role of micro-observers must remain strictly assistive?" he asked.
Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, questioned why the statutory procedure was being "bypassed" and under whose instructions it was being done.
He also alleged that login credentials of roll observers linked to specific districts were being accessed centrally from Kolkata and "misused".
"Login data is being misused to generate queries and specifically target a certain community at the direction of the ECI's political masters in Delhi. If this matter is independently examined, it will be established that the location of the login device and its IP address differ from the actual location of the concerned roll observer," he claimed.
The TMC leader said his party would take up the matter before the Supreme Court, which was hearing multiple petitions against the SAV exercise, including one moved by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"The Election Commission derives its legitimacy from PUBLIC TRUST, not POLITICAL PATRONAGE. We shall pursue this matter before the highest court of law. Furthermore, any person aligning themselves with or acting at the behest of Zamindars of Delhi will face stringent and uncompromising legal action. Be prepared!" he said.
The allegations were leveled less than 24 hours after the CM tore into the poll body, calling it a "Tughlaqui commission", and accused it of acting at the behest of the BJP to manipulate the voters' lists in the state.