Suvendu Adhikari writes to CEC, rebuts CM Mamata Banerjee's claims on SIR in Bengal

Kolkata, Jan 5 (IANS) A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, strongly refuting the allegations made by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo.

Using his social media handle, Addhikari shared a copy of his letter to CEC and slammed Mamata Banerjee for her "desperate lies" against the SIR exercise.

"I have sent a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Election Commissioner, @ECISVEEP Shri Gyanesh Kumar, dismantling Mamata Banerjee's desperate lies against the SIR exercise and her latest plea for halting SIR. Her so-called concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) are nothing but Pure Fiction," said Adkhikari.

Adhikari alleged that the TMC was rattled by the SIR exercise as it would expose the use of fake and illegal voters in elections.

“In reality, this ECI drive is throwing the spotlight on the TMC’s dirty secrets -- fake voters, names of the deceased, and illegal infiltrators they have protected for years to rig elections. It is crystal clear that Mamata Banerjee is panicking because SIR is a death knell for her 2026 dreams,” he claimed.

In the letter to CEC, Adhikari wrote, "I have carefully perused the letter dated January 03, 2026, from the Hon'ble Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee, wherein she has once again levelled a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Regrettably, this communication.... reeks of political desperation and a frantic bid to derail a sacred Constitutional Exercise that threatens to expose the rot in our electoral rolls - a rot that her Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime has nurtured and exploited for electoral gains over the past decade."

The BJP leader continued: "The Hon'ble Chief Minister's litany of grievances is not only factually inaccurate but a deliberate distortion designed to malign the ECI as 'politically motivated' and to manufacture a false narrative of widespread discomfort and disenfranchisement. In truth, it is her own Administration and Party machinery that have colluded to sabotage the SIR at every turn: intimidating field officials (as in the case of Electoral Roll Observer; Shri C Murugan) through mob vandalism, veiled threats and bureaucratic hurdles, flooding social media with disinformation campaigns, and orchestrating orchestrated protests to create an atmosphere of negativity and fear."

He added, "These unholy acts seek to portray the ECI's lawful diligence as harassment, when in reality, the Commission's actions are safeguarding the franchise of genuine voters while weeding out the fraudulent. Such tactics are a shameful assault on Democratic institutions, and I urge the ECI to remain vigilant against these machinations. Below, I systematically dismantle her key allegations, demonstrating their hollowness:"

The move from the LoP came a day after Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, expressing concern over alleged irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses during SIR process in Bengal.

In the letter, Banerjee said that critical instructions related to the SIR process are being communicated informally through WhatsApp messages and text messages, without formal written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders. She claimed that this lack of formal documentation undermines transparency, accuracy, accountability and could lead to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.