Image Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Mamata Banerjee Denies Receiving SIR Forms Personally
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday categorically denied media reports that she personally accepted enumeration forms from a Booth Level Officer (BLO) during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She stated that a BLO did visit her official residence for routine voter count verification, but she did not step out or receive any forms directly.
Her Response to the Public
Banerjee said she has not submitted her own enumeration form and declared she will refrain from doing so until every eligible citizen in West Bengal has been given the opportunity. She described the claims that she personally handled the forms as “completely false, misleading and a deliberate attempt at spreading misinformation.”
SIR Process and Political Context
The SIR exercise involves more than 80,000 BLOs conducting door-to-door visits to update voter lists in the state. The ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has expressed opposition to the way the revision is being implemented, calling it one-sided and an attempt to suppress voter rights. The chief minister’s refusal to submit her form before all others signals her protest against what she perceives as uneven application of the SIR programme.
