Sharpening her attack on the Election Commission, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged CEC Gyanesh Kumar to halt the “arbitrary and flawed” SIR in the state, warning that its continuation in the present form could trigger “mass disenfranchisement” and “strike at the foundations of democracy”.In a strongly worded letter dated December 3, Banerjee accused the commission of presiding over what she described as an “unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc” process marked by “serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses”.
She asserted that the situation on the ground had worsened despite her two earlier communications to the chief election commissioner (CEC).
“I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record my grave concern,” Banerjee wrote, recalling that she had flagged similar issues in letters dated November 20 and December 2.
“Regrettably, instead of any corrective course being adopted, the situation on the ground has only deteriorated further.”