Will take SIR torment to SC, plead personally if needed, says CM
Times of India | 6 January 2026
Gangasagar/Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday threatened to take the issue of people's harassment during SIR exercise to the Supreme Court and, if needed, personally plead on voters' behalf.
"We must fight it out. We are also seeking legal help. AI is being used to determine whose names will be excluded and whose will remain. We will go to court (Supreme Court). We will challenge the deaths of so many people and the harassment faced by many more," Banerjee said at Gangasagar.
"And, if required, I will go to the SC to plead. I will speak for the people. I am a lawyer but I will not go as a lawyer; I will go as an ordinary citizen. I will seek permission to speak. I will point out what is happening at the grassroots level and how people are being harassed," the CM said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the construction of a bridge connecting Gangasagar and Kakdwip (on the mainland).
"Over 58 lakh names have already been deleted from the draft voters' list without allowing these people to submit the necessary forms. All these names were deleted with AI help," she alleged.
Banerjee, iterating her claims that the Election Commission was carrying out the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls through WhatsApp messages, said (without naming chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar): "You, too, will vanish some day if this goes on. You are calling the elderly breathing with the help of oxygen masks and pregnant women for hearings? About 70-80 people have died (because of the use of force)," she said, alleging that the EC was deleting women's names for surname change after marriage.
"What will your leaders in Delhi say if their elderly mothers are subjected to such an ordeal? You should ask those responsible for names being deleted whether their own parents have all the required certificates. People above 85 are being summoned, some are appearing with oxygen support. Pregnant women are being called. Do they need to prove they are voters and citizens of this nation after living in this country for so long?" she asked.
Even monks' names were being deleted, Banerjee said. "You heard how the name of a sadhu from Bharat Sevegram Sangha was deleted. The names of many such sadhus and saints are being deleted," she added, alleging this was was happening at the BJP's behest.
Banerjee, invoking pride in Bengali identity, said SIR was a challenge to that pride. "Bengal has fought for independence, stood up for the right to education, ushered in a renaissance and played a pioneering role in cultural and social reforms. Do Bengalis need to prove their citizenship after all this? Who are you? Delhi's zamindars must not forget Bengal's history," she said.