Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee made a dramatic statement at a political rally in Cooch Behar on Tuesday. He brought ten local residents onto the stage. These individuals, he claimed, were alive and well but had been incorrectly listed as deceased in the draft electoral rolls.
Allegations Against the Election Commission
Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India. He labeled the body a "stooge" of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The MP asserted that the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) process was being used to wrongfully strip citizens of their voting rights.
"All of them were born and brought up in Cooch Behar," Banerjee stated, pointing to the ten people beside him. "But they were declared dead by the BJP's stooge Election Commission." He explained that their names had been struck off the voter lists during the SIR exercise.
A Pattern of Claims
This is not the first time the TMC leader has raised this issue. Earlier in January, he presented three people in South 24 Parganas district with similar allegations. They too were marked as dead in the draft rolls.
Banerjee expanded his criticism beyond the voter list issue. He accused the BJP-led central government of failing to fulfill its electoral promises. The upcoming state assembly elections, he said, represent a direct fight between the people of West Bengal and the saffron party.
Scale of the Issue in Cooch Behar
The MP provided a startling figure for Cooch Behar district alone. He claimed the Election Commission has sent notices to approximately 3.5 lakh people there. These notices cite "logical discrepancies" found during the SIR process.
Banerjee issued a call to action for TMC party workers. He urged them to ensure every person who received a notice gets their name properly included in the final voter list. The rally underscored the high political stakes as election preparations intensify in the state.
