Trinamool Congress All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee highlighted various rule breaches by officials involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in West Bengal. He expressed alarm over the inability of EROs to oversee AEROs’ progress on the ECINet portal during the SIR in Bengal, labeling it as a triple violation. Banerjee disclosed the specific norms that were reportedly flouted by the officials.
He also shared alleged WhatsApp conversations of West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal from an official WhatsApp group. Banerjee criticized these violations, stating that they undermine constitutional governance by eroding institutional checks and balances, paving the way for arbitrary and unlawful voter deletions at the AEROs’ discretion. He emphasized the importance of upholding democratic rights and condemned the nonchalant response received when the issue was raised to the Chief Electoral Officer.
Banerjee reiterated that no one should have the power to manipulate the democratic rights of Bengal’s voters. He warned those attempting to orchestrate voter deletion activities that they will be held accountable legally and by the public. Previously, Banerjee had shared WhatsApp exchanges indicating the Election Commission of India’s alleged disregard for Supreme Court directives during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of West Bengal’s electoral rolls.
