Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has escalated her battle against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, filing a plea in the Supreme Court ahead of a scheduled meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has alleged that the ECI is deliberately flouting the Supreme Court's January 19 order regarding the public display of a complete list of 1.5 crore voters with discrepancies, giving them only 10 days to submit documents. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the plea on February 4.

Banerjee has been a vocal critic of the SIR, alleging that it is a politically motivated exercise aimed at disenfranchising voters and implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the back door. She has accused the BJP of using the ECI to manipulate voter lists, claiming that names are being arbitrarily deleted due to minor discrepancies such as spelling variations or changes in surnames after marriage. According to the draft list published by the ECI, 58 lakh names of absent, shifted, dead, and duplicate voters have already been removed from Bengal's electoral rolls.

In a public meeting, Banerjee declared she would take her fight against the ongoing SIR exercise to Delhi. Sources within the TMC have indicated that Banerjee is scheduled to meet with CEC Gyanesh Kumar on February 2 to voice her concerns regarding the SIR.

Adding to the confrontation, Banerjee has also written to the CEC questioning the ECI's decision to appoint 8,100 micro-observers in Bengal, a move she claims is illegal and intended to manipulate voter data. She argues that Bengal is the only state undergoing the SIR process where such appointments have been made, suggesting a discriminatory approach.

Banerjee has stated that she will personally plead the case in the Supreme Court as a common citizen to demonstrate the ground-level issues and alleged harassment faced by the people due to the SIR. She has also accused the ECI of using artificial intelligence (AI) and WhatsApp for opaque deletion processes.

The BJP has countered Banerjee's claims, accusing her of attempting to protect "infiltrators" who constitute her vote bank. The party alleges that the SIR is aimed at removing fraudulent voters from the electoral rolls.

TMC has alleged that EC is bypassing court orders and rushing to meet its Feb 7 deadline to wrap up SIR hearings. The EC has announced that Bengal's final voter list will be out on Feb 14.