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 voters whose voting eligibility was being assessed as part of the SIR exercise.
Addressing an election rally in Naxalbari in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, she criticised the BJP for "causing misery" to the people by enforcing a "poorly 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 8 lakh names of 27 lakh voters under assessment 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 once that list is displayed," she added.
The first supplementary list of approximately 60 lakh voters under judicial scrutiny was published by the Election Commission late on Monday night, but the poll body has yet to officially confirm either the total number of voters assessed in that list or the deletion figure.
Banerjee alleged that when elderly citizens were made to stand in SIR queues and their citizenship was questioned, "how can the BJP dare to come to the same people seeking votes?"
"Until I am around, there will be no NRC exercise in Bengal and no detention camps will be allowed to be built," she declared.