The TMC’s request for an appointment with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal was rejected by the Election Commission after the latter insisted on meeting a five-member delegation, instead of 10.
In a letter to the TMC, the EC wrote: “The Commission always welcomes regular interaction with the political parties for a constructive dialogue… Accordingly, the Commission has considered the party’s request and decided to give an appointment to the delegation of TMC, comprising an authorised representative of the party along with four other party members for a meeting on November 28 at Nirvachan Sadan, New Delhi.”
Soon after, TMC general secretary and MP from Diamond Harbour Abhishek Banerjee slammed the EC for insisting on meeting a five-member delegation and dared the poll panel to stream the meeting live.
“Time has been sought for a delegation of 10 MPs. They are representatives ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, unlike the CEC and ECs, who are hand-picked by the Government of India. These selective leaks portraying the EC as “transparent” and “cordial” are nothing but a manufactured facade,” Abhishek, who is considered Number 2 in the party, posted on X.
“If the @ECISVEEP is genuinely transparent, why is it scared to face just 10 MPs? Hold the meeting openly. TELECAST IT LIVE and answer the five straightforward, legitimate questions that the AITC will place before you. Is the Election Commission willing to prove its transparency or does it only function behind closed doors?” he asked.
The TMC’s letter to the EC on Tuesday listed the names of 10 leaders who would attend the meeting. The list included Lok Sabha MPs Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, and Mahua Moitra, and Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale, and Prakash Chik Barik, besides Derek O’Brien, the leader of the TMC in the Rajya Sabha.
“There is no way we are going to agree to the limit on the number of members in the delegation imposed by the EC. A 10-member delegation would go for the meeting,” a senior TMC leader said.
The request for a TMC delegation meeting will be held against the backdrop of Mamata Banerjee writing to CEC Kumar, demanding “immediate intervention” in two recent issues.
She referred to the state chief electoral officer’s (CEO) direction to district election officers not to engage contractual data-entry operators and Bangla Sahayata Kendra staff for the SIR or other poll-related work.
The other matter is a proposal of the EC to set up polling booths inside private residential complexes.