Mamata Banerjee storms out of meeting with ECI over SIR, poll body says TMC MLAs threatened and used abusive language

The political drama staged by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll heated up as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stormed out of the meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on 2nd February. Dressed in all black as a mark of protest, CM Banerjee-led TMC delegation in Delhi claimed that the ECI officials ‘humiliated’ them. The ECI, however, stated that the TMC MLAs threatened and abused them. Mamata Banerjee claims ECI ‘humiliated’ them and gave a ‘garbage of lies’ Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Election Commission officials ‘humiliated’ them and failed to address the concerns of the affected families over the SIR exercise in poll-bound West Bengal. The TMC delegation decided to ‘boycott’ the meeting after the ECI officials allegedly failed to address their grievances. “The ECI humiliated us. They did not listen to us. That is why we walked out. I boycotted and stepped out. This election commissioner is very arrogant. We have been misbehaved with. We have been humiliated. The CEC gave us a garbage of lies. We came here for justice but were given injustice,” Banerjee said. Mamata Banerjee is a shrewd politician. The least qualification you need to fight an election machine like BJP. Look at the two women SIR victims leading the delegation with her. Prominent Sindoor on their forehead. Made sure her crusade is not misled by agenda of Delhi media. https://t.co/X4LrpqLmPf pic.twitter.com/TcVHAtMQfh— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) February 2, 2026 Launching a personal attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar, CM Banerjee said, “I have never seen this kind of Chief Election Commissioner. He is a great liar. He is giving a briefing after our queries.” After a 90-minute meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar, CM Mamata Banerjee abruptly left the meeting and reiterated the same old claims that the Election Commission is somehow working at the ‘behest’ of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Banerjee told the media that the ECI is deliberately doing large-scale deletion of voters’ names from the electoral roll, over minor spelling errors and title changes common in the state. The West Bengal Chief Minister claimed that names were being struck off over spelling differences like Mukherjee and Mukhopadhyay, or Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay. CM Banerjee further claimed that over 58 lakh names have been deleted from the draft electoral roll without being given a hearing. “They didn’t even ask,” Banerjee said. #WATCH | Delhi: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee comes out of the Election Commission Office in Delhi. She says, "I am very sad. I have been involved in politics in Delhi for a very long time. I was a minister 4 times and an MP 7 times. I have never seen such an Election… pic.twitter.com/2LayXFCfzy— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2026 “They say whatever they have done is right. They did not allow any outside cameramen to enter. What is done to hide democracy? They are working under the BJP’s direction. First, they removed 58 lakh voters, then they removed 1.4 crore voters. Around 2 crore people’s names have been removed from the voters’ list and put under mismatch. BJP has won Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar by manipulation. I can bring lakhs of people here in Delhi, and I can parade them in front of anybody…” she said. Mamata Banerjee then proceeded to highlight her main ‘Muslim’ concern, coupling it with the safe and effective ‘Dalit’ card, as she said that the Election Commission was specifically targeting Muslim ‘minorities’ and Scheduled Castes. “Why are SCs and minorities being targeted? Are they not human beings?” she asked. Even as there is all the more need for SIR in poll-bound states, CM Mamata Banerjee questioned why the SIR was conducted in states set to undergo elections, asserting that poll-bound states should have been skipped. “Why the hurry before the election? You should have left the states going to polls,” Banerjee said. Election Commission hits back at TMC, says party MLAs threatened and abused them As the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC delegation levelled grave accusations against the ECI, the Commission not only called out the alleged lies peddled by the TMC but also detailed how the TMC leaders misbehaved with ECI officials. The ECI officials said that Mamata Banerjee “raised false allegations, misbehaved, thumped the table and left”. In a statement, the Election Commission said that CEC Gyanesh Kumar responded to the queries raised by Mamata Banerjee and assured her that the rule of law will prevail throughout the SIR exercise. However, despite the polite demeanour of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners, CM Banerjee behaved inappropriately, thumped the table and walked out. “Despite the fact that CEC & ECs were listening to her patiently. Mamta Banerjee ran away from the meeting in between by BANGING THE TABLE IN RAGE,” the ECI sources said. “CEC Shri GK responded to her queri

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Mamata Banerjee storms out of meeting with ECI over SIR, poll body says TMC MLAs threatened and used abusive language

The political drama staged by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll heated up as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stormed out of the meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on 2nd February. Dressed in all black as a mark of protest, CM Banerjee-led TMC delegation in Delhi claimed that the ECI officials ‘humiliated’ them. The ECI, however, stated that the TMC MLAs threatened and abused them.

Mamata Banerjee claims ECI ‘humiliated’ them and gave a ‘garbage of lies’

Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Election Commission officials ‘humiliated’ them and failed to address the concerns of the affected families over the SIR exercise in poll-bound West Bengal. The TMC delegation decided to ‘boycott’ the meeting after the ECI officials allegedly failed to address their grievances.

“The ECI humiliated us. They did not listen to us. That is why we walked out. I boycotted and stepped out. This election commissioner is very arrogant. We have been misbehaved with. We have been humiliated. The CEC gave us a garbage of lies. We came here for justice but were given injustice,” Banerjee said.

Launching a personal attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar, CM Banerjee said, “I have never seen this kind of Chief Election Commissioner. He is a great liar. He is giving a briefing after our queries.”

After a 90-minute meeting with CEC Gyanesh Kumar, CM Mamata Banerjee abruptly left the meeting and reiterated the same old claims that the Election Commission is somehow working at the ‘behest’ of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Banerjee told the media that the ECI is deliberately doing large-scale deletion of voters’ names from the electoral roll, over minor spelling errors and title changes common in the state.

The West Bengal Chief Minister claimed that names were being struck off over spelling differences like Mukherjee and Mukhopadhyay, or Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay. CM Banerjee further claimed that over 58 lakh names have been deleted from the draft electoral roll without being given a hearing. “They didn’t even ask,” Banerjee said.

“They say whatever they have done is right. They did not allow any outside cameramen to enter. What is done to hide democracy? They are working under the BJP’s direction. First, they removed 58 lakh voters, then they removed 1.4 crore voters. Around 2 crore people’s names have been removed from the voters’ list and put under mismatch. BJP has won Haryana, Maharashtra and Bihar by manipulation. I can bring lakhs of people here in Delhi, and I can parade them in front of anybody…” she said.

Mamata Banerjee then proceeded to highlight her main ‘Muslim’ concern, coupling it with the safe and effective ‘Dalit’ card, as she said that the Election Commission was specifically targeting Muslim ‘minorities’ and Scheduled Castes.

“Why are SCs and minorities being targeted? Are they not human beings?” she asked.

Even as there is all the more need for SIR in poll-bound states, CM Mamata Banerjee questioned why the SIR was conducted in states set to undergo elections, asserting that poll-bound states should have been skipped.

“Why the hurry before the election? You should have left the states going to polls,” Banerjee said.

Election Commission hits back at TMC, says party MLAs threatened and abused them

As the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC delegation levelled grave accusations against the ECI, the Commission not only called out the alleged lies peddled by the TMC but also detailed how the TMC leaders misbehaved with ECI officials.

The ECI officials said that Mamata Banerjee “raised false allegations, misbehaved, thumped the table and left”. In a statement, the Election Commission said that CEC Gyanesh Kumar responded to the queries raised by Mamata Banerjee and assured her that the rule of law will prevail throughout the SIR exercise.

However, despite the polite demeanour of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the other two Election Commissioners, CM Banerjee behaved inappropriately, thumped the table and walked out.

“Despite the fact that CEC & ECs were listening to her patiently. Mamta Banerjee ran away from the meeting in between by BANGING THE TABLE IN RAGE,” the ECI sources said.

“CEC Shri GK responded to her queries & explained Rule of Law shall prevail, and anybody taking law into their own hands shall be dealt with strictly as per the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission,” the statement reads.

Furthermore, the ECI alleged that the TMC leaders are constantly threatening and abusing the Commission, especially CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

“TMC MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the Commission and especially against the CEC. Also threatening the election officials,” the ECI said.

The ECI also pointed out that there have been “incidents of vandalisation of the ERO (SDO/BDO) Offices by TMC workers/MLAs.”

“CEC reaffirmed that no pressure, obstruction, or interference of any kind by anyone should be exerted on officers engaged in SIR work,” the ECI said.

The Commission also raised administrative issues pertaining to the SIR exercise. The ECI stated that honorarium payments to booth-level officers (BLOs) should be released on time.

“Honorarium payable to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) be released in a timely manner without any further delay. Only Rs.7,000 out of Rs.18,000 per BLO has been paid as of now,” the ECI said.

“EROs/AEROs provided for deployment are not of the level of SMs/Tehsildars. Appointment of Returning Officers: The Commission has requested for proposal for appointment of ROs on 20.01.2026 as per the criteria (SM/SDO/Revenue Divisional Officer from General Administration). At present only in 67 Assembly Constituencies ROs are of the rank of SDO/SDM,” it added.

The Election Commission further pointed out during the meeting that the TMC government in West Bengal has transferred three Electoral Roll Observers without consulting the ECI. Despite ECI’s objections, the Mamata Banerjee-led government did not take any action.

“ECI has requested for cancellation of transfer orders on 27.01.2026. However, no action has been reported so far,” the ECI said.

The Commission also highlighted that the West Bengal government failed to register FIR against four officers (two ERO and two AERO) and one Data Entry Operator “for their failure to perform their statutory duties and for violating data security policies by sharing log-in credentials with unauthorised persons.”

Frustrated over SIR weeding out illegal voters in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee indulges in whataboutery, asks why no SIR in Assam

Ever since the announcement of SIR was first made ahead of the last Bihar assembly elections, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has been at the forefront to attack the Election Commission and the BJP-led Central government. Banerjee, joined by other I.N.D.I. bloc parties, has been claiming that the ECI is acting on the BJP’s behest to remove names of Muslim and Dalit voters from draft electoral rolls under the pretext of weeding out illegal or fake voters. When the authorities cracked down on illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya Muslims carrying fake voter IDs, the TMC linked it to Bengali Asmita or pride, insinuating that in the name of taking action against Bangladeshi illegals, the Centre was deliberately harassing Bengalis.

Even ahead of the start of SIR in West Bengal, CM Banerjee had raised objections and even issued veiled threats to BLOs, reminding them that they were for her government and not the ECI.

Various research and studies suggest that the 2024 electoral roll of West Bengal may include approximately one crore excess voters, recording an inflation of a whopping 13.69%. As per a study by Dr. Milan Kumar, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Visakhapatnam and Dr Vidhu Shekhar, Assistant Professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, the estimated number of legitimate voters (2024) is 6,57,06,849, while the number of voters per the official electoral roll (2024) is 7,61,24,780. This marks an estimated surplus of 1,04,17,931 voters, which in percentage translates into 13.69%.

However, despite the alarming numbers in her own state, CM Mamata Banerjee decided to concoct a narrative that somehow the SIR exercise is being conducted only in non-BJP-ruled states, even as BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh have also been through the SIR exercise.

“In Assam, there is a BJP government, so you didn’t do SIR there. You are targeting Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and leaving a BJP-ruled state,” Banerjee said.

This comes even as the ECI has already explained why Assam is not undergoing the conventional SIR exercise. In October 2025, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that the citizenship rule for Assam “differs from the rest of the country” and thus, a special order will be issued for SIR in Assam.

Regarding why no SIR will be conducted in Assam like other states and UTs, CEC Kumar said, “A special order will be issued by the Election Commission to hold SIR in Assam. Under the Citizenship Act, there are separate provisions for citizenship in Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the exercise of checking citizenship is about to be completed. The June 24 SIR order was for the entire country. Under such circumstances, this would not have applied to Assam. So, there will be separate revision orders issued for Assam, and a separate SIR date will be announced.”

Assam’s special citizenship law caps foreigners from voting or holding citizenship rights. Apparently, the ECI cannot apply a uniform SIR without conflicting with Assam’s special provisions, as SIR verification, including the 2003 cut-off, could inadvertently overlap or undermine them.

Besides, the NRC in Assam ordered and monitored by the Supreme Court since 2013, is nearing completion. Final appeals and re-verifications are pending, though. The Assam NRC has already excluded over 19 lakh people as “doubtful citizens”, triggering opposition. Thus, conducting an SIR now would risk double-deletion, duplicate efforts and also essentially mean an interference with SC-mandated timelines of the NRC. Since citizenship adjudication in Assam remains ongoing under the Supreme Court’s supervision, making parallel revisions through SIR will be impractical.

It is also amusing that Mamata Banerjee loathes SIR and initially wanted it not to happen in West Bengal altogether, and remains belligerent against the ECI, wants the same SIR exercise to be conducted in Assam.

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