‘Critical info on WhatsApp, contradictory instructions': Mamata Banerjee tears into SIR in letter to CEC Gyanesh Kumar

WEst Bengal chief government minister Mamata Banerjee on sun flagged alleged irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses in the on-going Special Intensive revise (SIR) of electoral rolls in westward Bengal, in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.Mamata wrote that critical instructions are issued on a regular basis, often through informal channels like WhatsApp, and there are no proper notifications, required for exercise of such magnitude. Mamata urged the Election Commission to immediately address the issues, flaws and make necessary corrections, adding that the exercise must be halted if corrective steps are not taken.The Election Commission was yet to respond to the Bengal chief minister's letter, at 6:45 pm."The undue haste with which the SIR is being conducted, without adequate groundwork or preparation, has rendered the entire process fundamentally flawed," the Trinamool Congress leader's letter read.“There has been no proper or uniform training of officials entrusted with this sensitive constitutional responsibility... Instructions issued from time to time are inconsistent and often contradictory; and there is a complete lack of clarity and planning on the part of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its State-level functionaries,” she alleged.The ongoing roll revision in the state — being conducted in 12 states and UTs after Bihar last year — has long been an issue of contestation between the TMC government in the state and the poll body.Mamata said she had highlighted the "unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc matter" in which the exercise was being undertaken in separate letters in November and December too."Shockingly, critical instructions are being issued almost on a daily basis, frequently through informal channels such as WhatsApp messages and text messages. No proper written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders—mandatory for an exercise of such magnitude and constitutional significance—are being issued," the letter further said.She warned the poll body to immediately take corrective actions or halt the unplanned and arbitrary exercise.“In view of the foregoing, I strongly urge you to immediately address and rectify the glitches, address the flaws and make the necessary corrections, failing which this unplanned, arbitrary and adhoc exercise must be halted,” she said, adding that, if the exercise is allowed to continue in its present form, “it will result in irreparable damage, large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters.”