Mamata raises Bengal’s SIR concerns after the explosive meeting with the EC, saying, “Victims not given opportunity.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral records the day following a contentious meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner. According to the PTI news agency, Banerjee claimed that accused “victims” of the SIR process in Bengal were not being given a chance to defend themselves during a press conference.

“People sitting behind us are all SIR victims. I could have brought lakhs of people here…They are not giving an opportunity to SIR victims to defend themselves,” Banerjee said in Delhi. This comes after Banerjee led a 14-member delegation, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee, and members of “SIR affected families” from West Bengal.

In the capital, Banerjee met with the Election Commission to voice his reservations with West Bengal’s SIR procedure. Nevertheless, the Bengal chief minister accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of “insulting, disrespecting, and humiliating” her as she left their meeting at his office.

Banerjee alleged that the CEC had spoken to her “with a certain attitude”, while calling the EC “very arrogant.”

“Will the Election Commission choose the government before the election. We are watching. You have the power of the BJP. We have the power of the people. So we boycotted the meeting. They have insulted us, humiliated us. I am saying this type of Election Commission is very arrogant. He spoke with a certain attitude. Deliberately, he behaved so badly with us. He behaved badly, and he treated us badly,” the Bengal CM said. Banerjee and the TMC have been calling for the SIR of the state’s electoral roll to be stopped, claiming that it has unfairly singled out citizens in West Bengal. Additionally, they have claimed that the exercise in its current shape will “strike at the foundations of democracy” and result in “mass disenfranchisement.” Additionally, the Election Commission has been accused by the Bengal Chief Minister of major irregularities and administrative errors that occurred during the process.