New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) national president Mamata Banerjee Monday stormed out of a meeting with a full bench of the Election Commission (EC) on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of “insulting and humiliating” her.
Speaking to reporters outside the Election Commission headquarters here, Banerjee launched a sharp attack on Kumar, calling him a “broker of the BJP”, and warned that he would also “meet the fate of Jagdeep Dhankhar”.
The dramatic walkout capped a day marked by a tense standoff between Banerjee and Delhi Police personnel posted outside the West Bengal Bhavan in Chanakyapuri. The chief minister alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had deployed the police to intimidate “SIR-affected families” who had travelled with her to the Capital. The Delhi Police rejected the allegation.
Banerjee attended the meeting along with TMC general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, party MP Kalyan Banerjee, and 12 members of “SIR-affected families, including those who are alive but declared dead and kin of those who died due to SIR,” the TMC said in a statement.
The Election Commission had on 16 December published West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, deleting the names of more than 58 lakh voters on various grounds, including death and migration. Assembly elections in the state are due in less than three months.
Members of the TMC delegation entered the meeting wearing black shawls. Banerjee alleged that the EC had “targeted” not just Muslims but also Hindus, including members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Mamata repeatedly described the CEC as a “great liar” and a “dalal” (broker).
“Dhankhar had also done something similar. He was the Governor of our state and used to speak against us, but we still respected him. But there is a limit, which is missing in this case. We boycotted the meeting. We were insulted and humiliated. I have not seen this type of Election Commission in the past. He is very arrogant. He misbehaved with us deliberately. He behaves as if he is a zamindar and we are his servants,” Banerjee said.
Dhankhar had stepped down from the post of Vice President of India on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on 21 July, 2025. Although Dhankhar cited medical reasons for stepping down, political insiders had suggested his resignation was prompted by a serious breakdown in his relationship with the government, effectively forcing him to quit.
Meanwhile, questioning the procedures followed during the SIR exercise, Banerjee also cited examples to criticise the documentation requirements.
“Ask the Prime Minister to produce institutional delivery certificates of his parents. Had Vajpayee-ji been alive, could he have produced such certificates? Can Advani-ji produce them?” she asked.
Election Commission sources said the points raised by the TMC delegation were duly noted by CEC Kumar and Election Commissioners S. S, Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
“When the CEC started responding, the TMC leaders interjected on multiple occasions. The chief minister appeared agitated and left the meeting abruptly,” an EC official said.
Banerjee also questioned the “haste” in carrying out the SIR exercise so close to the Assembly elections and reiterated concerns over the process followed by the commission.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)