In Delhi SIR protest, Mamata calls CEC ‘great liar’, says ‘fate will be like Dhankhar’s’

Calling Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “great liar”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (February 2) claimed that he would meet the same fate as Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Dhankhar, the former Vice President of India and ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, resigned from his post on July 21 last year, citing health reasons. He is also a former governor of West Bengal.

The timing of his abrupt resignation, during an ongoing parliamentary session, had sparked political speculation that he might have been forced to step down by the BJP government.

Delegation includes ‘dead’ voters

Mamata and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee spoke to the media after a meeting with the full bench of the Election Commission (EC), headed by the CEC, in New Delhi.

They raised allegations of bias and misconduct over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s voter list.

Also Read: Mamata looks to up SIR ante for bigger national footprint

Apart from TMC leaders, the 12-member delegation included voters who have been listed as “dead” in the recently published draft electoral rolls, and individuals whose family members reportedly died due to stress caused by the SIR process.

‘One lakh people’ warning

Mamata said she told Kumar during the meeting, “Your fate will be like Dhankhar’s. You are acting out of fear of the BJP. In Bihar, Haryana, and Maharashtra, you influenced things and won. But it will not happen in Bengal.”

“If necessary, I will bring one lakh people to Delhi. I will parade them here. Who will take responsibility for the deaths of so many people? The Commission itself is responsible for all these deaths. The Commission is acting at the behest of the BJP. Dhankhar did the same thing. In our state, he was the governor who spoke against us, but we still showed respect. However, there is a limit to respect. Here, I see no limit at all,” she said, hinting at a possibility of larger mass movement over the SIR exercise.

“We were disrespected and humiliated. I came out boycotting the meeting,” Mamata told reporters outside Nirvachan Sadan. “We respect the chair of the Commission, but no chair is permanent. Why is Bengal being targeted?”

Mamata’s questions

Mamata further demanded to know of the poll panel, “Why was the SIR conducted just three months before the elections? Why was it not done in Assam? Here, the names of 58 lakh voters have been removed (in the draft list). Seema Khanna did this using AI.” Khanna is the EC’s director general (IT).

Also Read: SIR in West Bengal | Mamata claims 100 deaths, three to four daily suicides

The chief minister further questioned Khanna’s credentials, alleging that “she is not from the Election Commission, she is from the BJP’s IT cell”.

The tone of the meeting was set hours before it officially began, as Mamata confronted Delhi Police outside Bengal Bhavan over alleged harassment of families affected by the SIR process.

Another presser to follow

The TMC took 100 people from West Bengal—50 listed as “dead” and 50 whose relatives reportedly died due to SIR-related stress—to Delhi. Some of them were part of the delegation that later met the Commission.

She accused the Delhi Police of cordoning off Bengal Bhavan and conducting searches inside, saying, “This is our building. They cannot do this.” Speaking to reporters, Mamata warned, “There is no reason to think I am weak. We have brought these people from far away; they cannot be intimidated.”

She vowed to fight for the affected families and announced a press conference on Tuesday, where the families would also be present.

‘Unplanned, ad hoc, flawed’ process

Mamata earlier moved the Supreme Court challenging the manner in which the SIR process was being done in the state, intensifying her standoff with the poll panel.

Filed on January 28, the petition names the Election Commission and West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal as respondents.

Also read: Muslim voters in flux ahead of 2026 Bengal polls as SIR fuels fear

In the petition she alleged that the SIR is “unplanned, ad hoc, and flawed,” warning it risks “mass disenfranchisement” and violates democratic principles.

The matter is yet to be listed for hearing.

Special discussion in Assembly

Earlier, the Supreme Court issued directions for transparency, allowing affected voters to submit documents and objections, while emphasising the revision must be non-arbitrary and fair to all citizens.

She alleged that the Commission was not even adhering to the apex court’s directives.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Monday indicated that a special discussion or motion on the contentious SIR issue is expected during the upcoming Budget session of the Assembly.

EC’s reply

The Commission, however, said in a statement that it had answered all questions raised by the TMC delegation during their meeting.

The poll body said the CEC addressed each issue brought before it.

The Commission emphasised that the rule of law would be upheld and warned that anyone attempting to take the law into their own hands would face action under its constitutional and legal powers.

Also read: Bengal SIR on the boil as EC seeks criminal case against TMC MLA over vandalism

It also hit back at the TMC, alleging that some of its legislators had used obscene and threatening language against the Commission, particularly its chief.

The poll body referred to an incident involving TMC MLA Monirul Islam, accused of vandalism at a BDO office, and said disparaging remarks about the commission were made at a public meeting.

It said officials working on SIR should not face pressure or interference and alleged that the state government has withheld BLO honorariums, a complaint it has raised repeatedly.

The meeting lasted nearly an hour.