West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India and the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEo), apparently over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
The plea was filed on January 28 late evening, said sources.
The same day, the Supreme Court, while hearing petitions in connection with the SIR exercise, had said that it would not extend the time for filing claims and objections for the revision in West Bengal.
On Monday, Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to lead a delegation of her party leaders to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Before leaving for New Delhi on Sunday, the TMC supremo accused the BJP of resorting to SIR because it was certain of defeat in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport, Mamata said, “They (the BJP) know they will lose in Bengal. That’s why they are using SIR. If they have the guts, I will appeal to them to contest politically and democratically instead of using the Election Commission and the agencies against the election.”
She claimed that similar practices had affected electoral outcomes in other states.
Nearly a month ago, Mamata had said that she would move the Supreme Court “as an ordinary citizen” to protect the democratic rights of citizens. At the Gangasagar rally in South 24 Parganas district, the chief minister had said that she would seek special permission to appear before the Supreme Court. “If necessary, I will go to the Supreme Court and plead for the people. I will speak for the people,” she said.
“I will not go as a lawyer, although I am a lawyer. As an ordinary citizen, I can certainly speak my mind. I will take permission to speak my mind and try to show clearly what is happening at the grassroots level, what is happening on the ground, and how people are being harassed. No matter how much the BJP tries, they won’t succeed,” she added.
So far, the TMC supremo has written nearly half a dozen letters to the Chief Election Commissioner over the SIR exercise, calling the exercise a “farce” and harassment of people.