Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR: 'It will result in irreparable damage, assault on fundamental principles'

Mamata Banerjee

• Mamata Banerjee alleges irregularities in West Bengal's electoral roll revision
• She urges Election Commission to fix flaws or halt the process
• Banerjee warns of voter disenfranchisement and loss of public trust

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.

"I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record my grave concern regarding the serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses being witnessed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal," she wrote.

"The undue haste with which the SIR is being conducted, without adequate groundwork or preparation, has rendered the entire process fundamentally flawed. There has been no proper or uniform training of officials entrusted with this sensitive constitutional responsibility; the IT systems being used are defective, unstable, and unreliable; 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. Collectively, these deficiencies have reduced this vital democratic exercise to a farce and have severely eroded public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process," the letter further said.

Read the full letter here:

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC Gyanesh Kumar

"I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record) my grave concern regarding the serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses being witnessed during the ongoing Special… pic.twitter.com/GvGEwGrw4v — ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2026

Banerjee further stated in her letter: "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. If allowed to continúe in its present form, it will result in irreparable damage, large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters, and a direct assault on the foundational principles of democratic governance."

The Chief Minister also said that while SIR has been described as time-bound, there is no transparent or uniformly applicable timelines for the revision process. "Different States are following different criteria, and timelines are being altered arbitrarily, reflecting a glaring lack of clarity, preparedness, and procedural understanding. Shockingly, critical instructions are being issued almost on a daily basis," she wrote.