Addressing a massive election rally in Manbazar, Purulia, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. The TMC supremo questioned the logic behind setting up all appellate tribunals in Kolkata, calling it a strategic move to prevent rural voters from reclaiming their voting rights.

The “Tribunal” Controversy: Mamata Banerjee alleged that the decision to keep all tribunals in the state capital is a conspiracy to disenfranchise the poor. “Why are all tribunals in Kolkata? Should the people from districts like Purulia and Bankura gasp for breath? A poor villager cannot afford to travel back and forth to Kolkata to prove their citizenship or voting right. This is an attempt by the BJP to hijack democracy,” she stated.

Legal Support for the Omitted: Promising to fight for the marginalized, the CM announced that the Trinamool Congress would provide free legal assistance to anyone whose name was wrongfully deleted from the voter list. She urged party workers to identify such individuals and help them through the legal process, asserting that her government would not allow the “NRC-style” deletion to succeed in Bengal.