Trinamool Congress slams SIR exercise, hails SC for intervention

The Supreme Court’s recent directions to the Election Commission on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process have triggered sharp political reactions in West Bengal, with the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) hailing the order as a major victory for democracy and voters’ rights.

In a series of statements and social media posts, AITMC leaders and spokespersons claimed the apex court has effectively rejected what the party alleges was an “opaque and arbitrary” mechanism aimed at harassing voters in the state.

The party argued that the SIR process, which flagged voters under the category of “logical discrepancy”, lacked transparency and due process.

According to the AITMC, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to make public the list of voters marked under “logical discrepancy”, allow decentralised hearings, permit Booth Level Agent-IIs (BLA-IIs) to remain present during hearings, issue written receipts to every summoned voter, and accept Madhyamik admit cards as valid proof of identity.

Welcoming the order, the party said the court’s intervention reaffirmed constitutional principles such as transparency, accountability and the right to vote. AITMC leaders described the ruling as a decisive setback to what they termed a “politically motivated” attempt at voter deletion.

In a strongly worded post shared from the party’s official X handle, alongside a video message by senior leader Mahua Moitra, the AITMC said the Supreme Court had “pulled up” the Election Commission and issued clear corrective directions. The party asserted that the order would ensure no genuine voter is removed from the electoral rolls.

Earlier, an AITMC spokesperson had said the so-called SIR was “nothing but a mechanism designed to harass the people of Bengal” and stressed that the Supreme Court had categorically held that such an abrupt and non-transparent process could not be sustained.

The Election Commission has not yet issued a detailed public response to the political reactions, though it is expected to comply with the Supreme Court’s directions.