Mamata says will move court on Jan 6 against 'arbitrary' SIR, human sufferings
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would move court against the EC's SIR of electoral rolls, alleging that fear, harassment and administrative arbitrariness linked to the exercise had led to deaths and hospitalisations, as she sharpened her confrontation with the poll body ahead of the state assembly polls.
Addressing a massive public gathering at Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee alleged that technology was being "weaponised" to disenfranchise voters ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, claiming that artificial intelligence and informal digital platforms were being used to arbitrarily delete names from electoral rolls, undermining democratic safeguards.
"We are moving court tomorrow against the inhumane treatment and the death of so many people due to the SIR," she said, adding that she was prepared to escalate the legal battle if required. She, however, did not clarify whether the petition would be filed by her personally, the state government or her party, the TMC.
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Banerjee said she would seek permission to appear before the Supreme Court not as a lawyer but as an ordinary citizen. "If necessary, I will go to the Supreme Court and plead for the people. I will speak for the people," she said, recalling that she is legally trained.
Alleging a "technological conspiracy" behind the SIR, the TMC supremo claimed that opaque digital processes had replaced due mechanism. "Artificial Intelligence has emerged now. Using images and voices, lies can be spread. Names are being removed using AI," she said.
"AI is deciding whose surname has changed, who got married, which girl has gone to her in-laws' house. Even a murderer gets a chance to defend himself. Here, people's names are being removed," Banerjee said, alleging that 5.4 million names had been dropped without adequate opportunity to respond through statutory forms.
In a sharp swipe, she alleged that the poll body was being "run on WhatsApp", warning that erosion of voting rights would have political consequences.
"If people's rights are taken away, you too will vanish, you Vanish Kumar," she said while referring to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging citizens to check their names on the draft rolls despite the hardship. "This is a struggle for survival and to protect rights," she added.
The escalation comes a day after Banerjee wrote to the CEC, urging an immediate halt to what she termed an "arbitrary and flawed" SIR, warning that its continuation could trigger "mass disenfranchisement" and "strike at the foundations of democracy".
In the letter, she accused the commission of an "unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc" exercise marked by "serious irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses", later describing the process as having been reduced to a "farce".
On the ground, Banerjee said, the hearings had extracted a human cost.
She alleged that people with plastered legs, those recently discharged from hospitals and the elderly were being compelled to attend hearings.
"In two months, nearly 70 people have died. Does no heart ache? If your 85-year-old mother were dragged into an ambulance, what answer would Delhi's leaders give?" she asked, questioning whether those ordering deletions had their own parents' certificates.
She questioned the haste of the exercise, arguing that voter list corrections should be spread over two years rather than forced through in months. "We want names to be included, not excluded. Why this coercion?" she said.
Framing the issue in a wider political and cultural context, Banerjee alleged intimidation of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states and challenged what she described as majoritarian politics.
"I dare them to kill me, but I will not stop speaking my mother tongue, Bengali. Is it a crime now?" she asked.
She also accused the BJP of keeping a pattern of pre-election inducements followed by repression. "They will give Rs 10,000 before elections and use the bulldozer once it's over," she said. "You can torture as much as you want, it won't yield results."
The Election Commission and the BJP have rejected allegations of arbitrariness, maintaining that the SIR is a routine exercise aimed at ensuring clean and accurate electoral rolls.
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Mandaviya opens ESIC hospital in Doddaballapur, lays foundation for facility in Ballari
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday inaugurated the newly constructed 100-bedded ESIC Hospital at Doddaballapur near here.
He also laid the foundation stone for a 100-bedded ESIC Hospital at Ballari, remotely from Doddaballapur.
Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje, Chikkaballapura MP K. Sudhakar, and Doddaballapur MP Dheeraj Muniraju were among those present.
These healthcare facilities mark a significant milestone in strengthening healthcare delivery under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme in the region, officials said at the event.
As a special gesture, the union minister of labour and employment also honoured construction workers who contributed to the development of the hospital and disbursed cash benefits to ESI beneficiaries during the event.
The Doddaballapur facility will serve over 1,42,037 insured workers and their families, benefiting approximately 5.5 lakh beneficiaries across Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, and Kolar districts, according to a release.
The Ballari facility, upon completion, will cater to the medical needs of around 64,000 workers and their families, benefiting over 2 lakh beneficiaries in the Ballari division, it said.
The ESIC Hospital at Doddaballapur in Bengaluru Rural is a 100-bedded multi-speciality secondary care facility built over 5 acres at Rs 101.14 crore.
It has 32 staff quarters and offers key services such as general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics, emergency care, and comprehensive diagnostic facilities, including radiology, laboratory, and blood bank.
The proposed ESIC Hospital at Ballari will be developed on 5.21 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore and will provide modern healthcare services to insured persons and their families under the ESI Scheme.
