KOLKATA, Jan 31 : Just two days ahead of her meeting with the country’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday raised serious objections to the deployment and role of micro-observers in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter rolls.
In a letter to Kumar, Banerjee alleging that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has overstepped its legal mandate and created a parallel decision-making structure without statutory backing.
Banerjee is scheduled to meet Kumar at the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.
However, 48 hours before the meeting, the Chief Minister escalated her attack on the poll panel by releasing her latest missive, sharply criticising the conduct of the SIR process in West Bengal.
This is the sixth letter written by Banerjee since the SIR exercise began in the state, and the fifth after the process formally got underway, underscoring the Trinamool Congress government’s sustained opposition to the Commission’s approach.
In her latest communication, which political observers believe is a tactical move to mount pressure on the ECI before the meeting, Banerjee accused the ECI of violating provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the rules framed under it.
She alleged that the methodology and outlook adopted during the voter list revision had “crossed the limits prescribed by law” and was causing “immense suffering, fear and uncertainty among ordinary citizens”.
A key focus of the letter is the unprecedented appointment of micro-observers in West Bengal.
Banerjee pointed out that nearly 8,100 micro-observers have been deployed during the SIR, calling it a first in India’s electoral history.
According to her, these micro-observers are inadequately trained and “in no way qualified to handle such a sensitive and legally complex process.”
She alleged that despite this, they have been unilaterally sent into the field, raising serious questions about the neutrality and fairness of the entire exercise.
“The Representation of the People Act, 1950 or 1960 does not envisage any such role or decision-making authority for micro-observers,” Banerjee wrote,
“According to law, the powers to maintain electoral rolls, conduct hearings on claims and objections, verify documents, and take final decisions on inclusion or deletion of names rest solely with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs),” she said.
Any active intervention by micro-observers, she argued, is therefore “not legally tenable.”
The Chief Minister also linked the SIR process to what she described as “severe human distress”. She claimed that the pressure of hearings and document verification had led to “mental agony” across districts, alleging that around 140 people had died amid the stress associated with the exercise.
“Ignoring all humanitarian considerations, this programme has been imposed in violation of existing laws and rules,” she wrote.
Banerjee further questioned why Trinamool Congress MPs and MLAs had been summoned in connection with the SIR.
She pointed out that all elected representatives had contested and won elections only after clearing scrutiny by the Election Commission.
“Why should they now be asked again to prove themselves as voters?” she asked in the letter.
Invoking Articles 327 and 328 of the Constitution, Banerjee argued that the Election Commission has no authority to create a parallel observer framework without amending the law or framing valid rules.
She also alleged discrimination, stating that while SIR is underway in other states and union Territories, there is no precedent elsewhere of micro-observers exercising such influence over decisions.
“A separate and unlawful set of rules is being applied only in West Bengal,” she alleged, calling it “clearly discriminatory.”
Banerjee claimed that several central and state observers were operating from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal and exercising control over the ECI portal without legal authority, creating what she described as a potential “backdoor mechanism” to manipulate data and exclude eligible voters.
Questioning the legal status of both observers and micro-observers, Banerjee asked whether they possessed any statutory power to approve or influence decisions, or whether their role was meant to be strictly limited to observation and assistance.
She warned that sidelining EROs and AEROs was gravely undermining the credibility and transparency of the SIR process.
In the closing section of the letter, Banerjee accused the Commission of applying one law nationwide but following a “different and extra-legal method” in West Bengal alone, which she said was contrary to democratic values, the federal structure, and fundamental rights.
She urged the Chief Election Commissioner to intervene immediately to restore public trust and safeguard voting rights and human rights. (UNI)
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