Halt ‘chaotic, coercive’ SIR of electoral rolls, Mamata writes to CEC

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to halt the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the eastern state, alleging that continuing the "unplanned and coercive drive" would not only endanger more lives but also jeopardise the legitimacy of exercise.

- HT Correspondent

"I would request you to kindly intervene decisively to halt the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide proper training and support and thoroughly reassess the present methodology and timelines. If the path is not corrected without delay, the consequences for the system, the officials and the citizens will be irreversible," Banerjee said in a three-page letter to the CEC.

Banerjee, who is also the president of ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), cited the suicide of a booth-level officer (BLO) in Jalpaiguri, reportedly under "crushing SIR-related pressure", and added that "several others have lost their lives since this process began".