KOLKATA, Jun 26: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday lashed out at the Election Commission of India (ECI) for allegedly isolating voters born between July 1987 and December 2004 and seeking documentary evidence of their citizenship in the name of ‘special intensive revision of electoral rolls’.
Alleging that the ECI was “acting like a stooge of the BJP”, Banerjee asked whether the move was a backdoor attempt to implement the NRC.
Addressing reporters in the coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district, where the chief minister is currently stationed to oversee preparations and participate in Friday’s Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath from the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple, Banerjee said she called the press conference in a hurry to address the issue which was a “matter of utmost concern”.
“I have received two letters from the ECI, each comprising 25-30 pages. I haven’t been able to go through them in detail so far. But from what I have understood from a cursory glance, the Commission is now seeking a declaration form from voters born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, which is Annexure D in one of the letters, where they will have to submit birth certificates of both parents as proof of citizenship,” Banerjee said.
“I don’t understand the reason behind the ECI move or the rationale behind selecting these dates. This is nothing short of a scam. I seek clarification from the Commission on whether they are trying to implement the NRC through backdoors. In fact, this looks to be more dangerous than the NRC which every political party in opposition must resist,” she added.
Banerjee revealed that the letters were sent to the Bihar government, and a copy was forwarded to her as well.
“Nothing will happen in Bihar because the BJP rules that state and the state elections there are at the doorstep. Their real target is Bengal. They want to delete the names of valid young voters. Many parents will not be able to furnish their birth certificates. They are targeting the migrant worker community of Bengal, students, villagers and uneducated voters,” she alleged.
The assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year.
“A dangerous game’s afoot and it’s alarming for our democracy,” the TMC supremo said.
Banerjee accused the ECI of acting according to the wishes of the BJP and challenged its authority in making such rules.
“How can the ECI do this unilaterally without consulting the recognised political parties at the central and state levels who play a key role in running the country’s democratic structure? They are treating us like bonded labourers and doing this only to fulfil the wishes of a certain RSS pracharak who is now running the country for all practical purposes,” the CM said, pointing to, but without naming, Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Referring to an alleged previous ECI notice where the poll panel sought details of booth-level agents of the Trinamool Congress, she accused the commission of acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.
“Why should I reveal the names of my booth agents? So that the BJP can purchase them?” she asked.
Alleging that the commission was aiding the BJP in getting people from outside the state enlisted as voters in Bengal, Banerjee urged revision of ECI guidelines.
“We ask the commission to rectify the voters’ list by means of proper guidelines so that names of valid voters are not deleted. We ask the poll panel not to pressurise common people to accept their verdict. My humble request to the EC is that it should act impartially like it is expected to,” she said.
The CM maintained that while Bengal was the BJP’s real target behind the facade of the ECI, other non-BJP states would soon come under the same radar.
“This ploy is now clear as daylight. We are the first to respond. But I urge the other opposition parties to take serious note of this and build resistance,” she said.
Urging people to stay vigilant of such “attempts to snatch away their right to vote”, Banerjee warned that the move will “backfire on the BJP”.
“Citizens should keep a keen eye on their status in electoral roles till the very end. Else they might find their names struck off and sent to detention camps. That’s the intention of the BJP,” she said, adding, “Our party will build up people’s resistance against this and we will soon hit the streets.” (PTI)
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