National Desk
5 February
Journalist Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
In an unprecedented move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally argued her petition before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Appearing before a bench led by Justice Surya Kant, she accused the Election Commission (EC) of targeting Bengal’s voters under the guise of the Special Internal Revision (SIR).
Key Allegations
Banerjee grew emotional during the proceedings, claiming the EC’s process is designed to delete names rather than add new ones. She highlighted several irregularities:
Wrongful Deletions: Living citizens are allegedly being declared dead in official records.
Document Rejection: Valid documents like Aadhaar are reportedly being dismissed.
Mass Impact: Her counsel noted that nearly 1.36 crore people have been flagged for “logical discrepancies.”
Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, she remarked that when justice is denied, “justice weeps behind closed doors.”
Court’s Intervention
Recognizing the gravity of the matter, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal. Justice Surya Kant emphasized that no innocent voter should be excluded from the electoral rolls.
This event marks the first time in Indian judicial history that a sitting Chief Minister has personally advocated a case in the Supreme Court. The next hearing is scheduled for Monday.