West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticized the Election Commission of India during the inauguration of the Kolkata International Book Fair 2026. She expressed concern over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, citing inconvenience to people. Banerjee highlighted that 110 individuals in the state have died due to reasons related to the revision exercise.
The Chief Minister raised issues with the manner in which the revision exercise was being conducted, emphasizing the long queues and the hardships faced by people during hearings on the draft voters’ list. She pointed out that the concept of “logical discrepancy” was newly introduced in West Bengal, unlike in other states where it had not been a practice before.
Banerjee also criticized the serving of hearing notices to prominent figures like Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen and poet Joy Goswami, labeling it as uncertain. She called for a united movement against the Election Commission’s actions, stating that the Commission was now deciding who would vote, a departure from the traditional role of the people in making such decisions.
The Chief Minister mentioned that she has already published 135 books and plans to write more in the future, including one addressing the harassment of people in the name of SIR. She urged for collective action against the perceived injustices in the electoral process.
