TMC claims 40 SIR-related deaths in West Bengal; EC junks claims
New Delhi (PTI): A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
The TMC delegation, which met the EC top brass, also accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of having "blood on his hands".
The 10-member delegation, led by TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, met the EC officials amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
EC officials noted that during the meeting, the TMC leaders were told that the independence of booth-level officers should not be interfered with during the enumeration forms distribution process as part of SIR.
"EC also told the delegation of TMC not to influence or threaten the BLOs regarding dead, shifted and duplicate voters," an official later said.
The ECI also told the AITC delegation that while political rhetoric is their prerogative, they should refrain from spreading misinformation relating to election procedures.
Following their meeting, O'Brien addressed reporters, saying that the party had raised five questions, but CEC Kumar did not respond to any of them.
"We started the meeting by stating that the CEC has blood on his hands. We raised five questions. After this, Kalyan Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, and Mamata Thakur spoke and shared whatever they had to in about 40 minutes," O'Brien said.
"Then the CEC spoke uninterrupted for one hour. We were also not interrupted while we spoke, but we did not receive any answer to any of our five questions," he added.
EC officials said the poll authority gave a point-wise rebuttal to all concerns and "baseless allegations" raised by the TMC delegation.
The commission urged them to present their claims and objections after December 9, when the draft list will be shared with them.
"Till then, they should not interfere with the independent functioning of BLOs, electoral registration officers and district election officers who are state government employees on deputation to election-related works," the official said.
Additionally, the Election Commission shot off a letter to DGP West Bengal and Kolkata Police Commissioner to ensure that the BLOs are not pressurised and threatened by political party workers.
Moitra mentioned that the delegation provided the CEC with a list of 40 people whose deaths, they alleged, were linked to the SIR exercise. The commission, however, dismissed it as mere allegations, the Lok Sabha MP claimed.
"We began by presenting a list of individuals whose deaths we believe are linked to the SIR process... The CEC said that these are merely allegations," Moitra said.
The TMC MPs asked the poll body about the claim that the exercise would weed out non-voters, and questioned why the exercise was not being undertaken in the Northeastern states, which also face the risk of infiltration as they share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
They also questioned how the electoral roll, on which the last Lok Sabha election was held, suddenly became "unreliable". The MPs raised the issues of alleged deaths linked to the SIR process, and questioned who would take responsibility for it. Additionally, they expressed worries about the neutrality and effectiveness of the SIR process and noted a recent amendment in the rules by the poll panel that allows for the appointment of external Booth Level Agents (BLAs).
The TMC further informed the CEC that BJP leaders in West Bengal are claiming that one crore voters' names will be deleted. "The ECI has taken no cognisance of these comments, nor have they negated the dear mongering by the BJP," a TMC leader said.
A party source said they have compiled a list of 60 tragedies linked to SIR - 41 common people and 19 BLOs. Of the common individuals, 35 have died, and six are receiving medical attention. Among the 19 BLOs affected, four have died, while 15 are hospitalised or receiving care.
The SIR is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories, including West Bengal.
The delegation consisted of Lok Sabha MPs Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, and Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale, and Prakash Chik Barik.
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RBI does not target any band for rupee, allows it to find its own level: Guv Malhotra
Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said the central bank does not target any band for the rupee in the forex market, and allows the domestic currency to find its own correct level.
The governor's statement came at a time when the rupee breached the 90-mark against the US dollar, and is hovering near that level.
"We don't target any price levels or any bands. We allow the markets to determine the prices. We believe that markets, especially in the long run, are very efficient. It's a very deep market," he said while replying to a question on rupee depreciation at a post-monetary policy press meet.
Malhotra said fluctuations in the market keep taking place, and the effort of the RBI is always to reduce any abnormal or excessive volatility.
"And that is what we will continue to endeavour," he added.
In its bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI announced three-year USD/INR Buy Sell swaps of USD 5 billion this month.
When asked if the USD-INR swap is aimed at checking rupee depreciation, Malhotra said, "It is a liquidity measure. It is not to support the rupee".
Stressing that RBI does not target any level of rupee against the US dollar, he said the central bank allows "the rupee find its correct position, correct level".
The governor further said the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and the current account is manageable, and given the strong fundamentals of the economy, the country should witness good capital flows going forward.
Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) to India recorded a net outflow of USD 0.7 billion in 2025-26, so far (April-December 03), due to unabated withdrawal from the equity segment.
Flows under external commercial borrowings and non-resident deposit accounts moderated compared to the last year.
As of November 28, 2025, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 686.2 billion, providing a robust import cover of more than 11 months.
The governor further said that, having reduced the policy rate (repo) by 25 basis points, the focus will now be on transmission of the rate cut to the real economy.
According to the RBI's November bulletin, the depreciation of the rupee in October was due to a stronger dollar, following the US Fed's policy announcement to lower the Federal funds rate.
Nevertheless, strong fundamentals, such as stable inflation, a resilient growth outlook for the Indian economy, a narrower current account deficit, steady services exports, robust private remittances, and robust foreign exchange reserves, have contributed to the rupee being the least volatile among emerging market and developing economies.
The rupee has performed better than the Euro, and its depreciation has been in line with that of other currencies, such as the Japanese Yen and the Korean Won (for April to November 2025-26).
The central bank has announced various measures over the last 3 years to diversify and expand the sources of foreign exchange funding, aiming to mitigate exchange rate volatility and dampen global spillovers.
The RBI bi-monthly policy in October had announced some measures to enhance the use of the rupee in international trade.
