“They Are the Killers of Democracy”: Mamata Banerjee Alleges Massive Voter Deletions in Bengal

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a fierce attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of undermining democracy through large-scale deletion of voter names under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Addressing the issue publicly, Banerjee alleged that the process was being misused to selectively target genuine voters across the state.

“They (BJP) are the killers of democracy. In the name of SIR, they have deleted more than 1.5 crore names from the voters’ list,” the Chief Minister said, claiming the exercise had gone far beyond routine verification and turned into a political weapon.

Mamata Banerjee further alleged that even prominent personalities were not spared. “They have sent notices to Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, and actor Dev,” she said, questioning how respected public figures could suddenly be treated as doubtful voters.

Highlighting the social impact of the alleged deletions, the Chief Minister said women and young voters were among the worst affected. “The names of women and young people have been deleted,” she said, adding that many genuine voters were removed without being given a chance to explain their status.

Drawing a sharp comparison, Banerjee remarked, “Even a murderer is allowed to defend himself, but the genuine voters—maximum women who married recently and whose surnames have changed, or whose addresses have changed—their names have been deleted.”

She alleged that the deletions were being carried out without adequate verification or opportunity for correction, effectively disenfranchising large sections of the population. According to her, such actions strike at the very foundation of democratic rights and fair elections.

The Chief Minister warned that the Trinamool Congress would not remain silent and would raise the issue at every possible forum.