AI-driven digitisation errors causing widespread hardship during SIR: Mamata to CEC
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to CEC Gyanesh Kumar again on Monday, claiming that AI-driven digitisation errors in the 2002 electoral rolls were causing widespread hardship to genuine voters during the SIR exercise in the state.
In her fifth letter to the chief election commissioner (CEC) since the beginning of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said serious errors occurred in electors' particulars during the digitisation of the 2002 voters' list using AI tools, leading to large-scale data mismatches and wrongful categorisation of genuine voters as having "logical discrepancies".
Accusing the EC of disregarding its own statutory processes followed over the last two decades, she said electors were being compelled to re-establish identity despite earlier corrections made after "quasi-judicial hearings".
"Such an approach, disowning its own actions and mechanisms spanning more than two decades, is arbitrary, illogical and contrary to the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India," she alleged.
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Banerjee further claimed that no proper acknowledgement was being issued for documents submitted during SIR, claiming that the procedure was "fundamentally flawed".
She said the SIR hearing process had become "largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data", and was "completely devoid of the application of mind, sensitivity and human touch", claiming that it undermined "the bedrock of our democracy and constitutional framework".
Highlighting the human cost, she wrote that the exercise, which should have been constructive, "has already seen 77 deaths with 4 attempts to suicide and 17 persons falling sick and necessitating hospitalisation," attributing it to "fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload due to unplanned exercise undertaken by ECI."
Mamata also condemned the harassment of eminent citizens, noting that Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, actor and MP Deepak Adhikari, international cricketer Mohammed Shami and the Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram Sangha were "subjected to this unplanned, insensitive and inhuman process."
"Does this not amount to sheer audacity on the part of the ECI?" she questioned.
The chief minister further criticised the treatment of female voters, saying, "Women electors who have shifted to their matrimonial homes and changed their surnames after marriage are being questioned and summoned for hearings to prove their identity.
She said, "This not only reflects a complete lack of social sensitivity but also constitutes a grave insult to women and genuine voters. Is this how a constitutional authority treats half of the electorate?"
Banerjee urged the EC to immediately address the issues to "end the harassment and agony of the citizens and the official machinery" and safeguard democratic rights.
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Satyagraha sparks political storm in Kerala as CM accuses Centre of financial squeeze
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala saw a heated political showdown on Monday as state ministers led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to the streets with a Satyagraha, accusing the BJP-led Centre of squeezing the state financially.
What followed was a war of words, with the BJP hitting back hard and the Congress keeping its distance, turning the issue into a three-cornered political battle.
Standing before party leaders, ministers and supporters at the Martyrs' Column in Palayam here, Vijayan said Kerala had been pushed into an "extraordinary struggle" to protect its rights.
He told the gathering that the Centre was trying to "snatch away" what the Constitution had guaranteed to the states.
According to him, this was not just about money, but about dignity, federalism and democracy.
"This is a struggle for the survival of this land and its people. Believing that all authority rests in their hands, the rulers at the Centre are arbitrarily usurping our rights," Vijayan said, a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that the funds given to the state during the NDA period were more than three times higher than what it received during the Congress-led UPA period.
"The present situation has compelled us to take to struggle in order to protect those rights. This is an extraordinary and grave circumstance," the veteran CPI(M) leader said.
He said the Union government was treating Kerala with bias and political vengeance.
The cuts in grants and borrowing limits, he claimed, were meant to choke the state financially.
Vijayan pointed out that Kerala was supposed to get Rs 12,000 crore between January and March, but was denied Rs 5,900 crore without any clear reason. This, he said, had made it difficult for the government to pay bills and run welfare schemes smoothly.
The CM also accused the Union government of centralising power and using money to reward states ruled by friendly parties while punishing opposition-ruled states like Kerala.
He reminded the people of how Kerala was denied permission to receive foreign aid during the 2018 floods and how support was lacking after the Wayanad landslide. These were, Vijayan said, clear examples of discrimination.
Rejecting claims of financial mismanagement, he said the state had continued to invest in welfare, development and jobs despite financial pressure.
Taking on Amit Shah's claim that Kerala received more funds under the Modi government, Vijayan said tax devolution was not a gift, but a constitutional right. He accused the Centre of interfering with the Finance Commission and quoted NITI Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam.
"Subrahmanyam, who is currently serving as the CEO of NITI Aayog, has stated that soon after becoming Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi exerted pressure on the Finance Commission to reduce the tax share of states," he said.
The chief minister said the Finance Commission had recommended 42 per cent for states and that there was an attempt to cut it to 33 per cent. He added that the Prime Minister had not denied this claim.
"When Amit Shah cites figures, he must also clarify these facts. Perhaps realising that none of this can be defended, he has now resorted to dreaming about a distant future," he said.
Calling for wider protests, Vijayan said Kerala would fight legally and politically to protect federalism and ensure its rightful share. He also criticised the Congress-led UDF for not standing with the state at this crucial time.
But the BJP hit back almost immediately. State BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Left government was trying to fool the public.
He said a government that had ruled for nearly 10 years had no excuse to shift blame.
"A government that has ruled for 10 years should explain what it has done for the people. That is the basic courtesy in a democracy," Chandrasekhar told a press conference here.
He challenged Vijayan to a public debate on governance and finances. He claimed that Kerala received Rs 72,000 crore during UPA rule, but Rs 3.2 lakh crore under the NDA.
He argued that nearly Rs 7 lakh crore had come through central assistance and borrowings in the last decade, and over Rs 10 lakh crore including revenue receipts.
Chandrasekhar said central schemes worth Rs 16,000 crore were not implemented and pointed to water shortages, unpaid contractors and homelessness.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF chose not to join the protest.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan said his party would not be part of what he called political drama by the LDF.
He alleged an "unholy understanding" between the CPI(M) and the BJP and said the Left was pretending to fight the Centre while quietly supporting its policies.
"If we participate in such protests, we too will lose credibility," he said.
Later in a post on X, Vijayan said Kerala's share in tax devolution, grants and scheme funds have been reduced.
"We have suffered a total revenue loss of Rs 57,000 crores due to the Union Government’s financial discrimination against us."
He said the state was merely demanding what is rightfully owed to it, not any handout from the Union Government.
"Kerala stands firm in its resolve and will resist every attempt to subvert states' constitutional rights," Vijayan said.
