Will personally plead against SIR in Bengal at SC if necessary: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, Jan 5 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Monday said that she will personally plead at the Supreme Court of India (SCI) against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), highlighting the plight of the people because of the exercise being conducted in an unplanned manner.

“We are going the legal way on the SIR exercise. The Supreme Court will be functioning from Tuesday after a vacation. If necessary, I will personally plead against the SIR there. I also have a law degree, and hence I can also plead at the apex court,” Chief Minister Banerjee said at a government function at Sagar Islands in South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday afternoon.

However, Chief Minister Banerjee added that she will be pleading at the apex court not as an advocate, but as a common person.

“Even as a common person, I have the right to plead at the Supreme Court. I will seek the court’s permission for that. If I get the permission, I will argue at the apex court and highlight what is actually happening here in the name of SIR,” she said.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Banerjee further said that what was happening in the name of SIR in West Bengal was nothing but harassment of common people.

“Over 58 lakh names have already been deleted in the draft voters’ list, without allowing them to submit the necessary forms under the exercise. All these names were deleted through the use of Artificial Intelligence,” the Chief Minister said.

She also accused the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, of running the Election Commission of India (ECI) through WhatsApp messages. “An attempt is on to deprive people of their rights. If this continues, you will also vanish someday,” the Chief Minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, she also launched a scathing attack against the BJP over the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in states ruled by the saffron party.

“Is it a crime to speak in Bengali in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi? Can anyone be killed there just for speaking in Bengali? I have the right to speak in Bengali. They are here to ruin the country. But the people of Bengal will never bow down in front of such pressure,” she said.

src/rad