West Bengal assembly passes resolution claiming 107 deaths due to stress over SIR of electoral rolls
Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): The West Bengal Assembly on Thursday passed a key resolution regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged that 107 people have died in the state so far due to the fear and mental stress caused by the special revision of voter lists.
The resolution presented in the Assembly stated that the ongoing SIR process ahead of the upcoming assembly elections has created an atmosphere of fear among the public. The TMC claims that a large number of people fear that this process is an indirect version of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), through which their names could be removed from the voter list and their citizenship could be questioned.
According to the proposal, mental stress caused by lack of documents or fear of names being deleted from the voters' list has led to the deaths of many people, including cases of suicide.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the central government were using this process to intimidate the people of Bengal and undermine their democratic rights. She also questioned the functioning of the Election Commission of India, saying that the Commission and the central government should take moral responsibility for these deaths.
The issue has heated up state politics. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claims that 3-4 people are losing their lives every day due to fears surrounding the NRC. She called it an attempt to implement the NRC through the back door.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has completely rejected the TMC's allegations. BJP leaders say the state government is spreading confusion and fear among the public for electoral gain. The party has described the alleged deaths as a political exploitation of personal tragedies.
The matter reaches the Supreme Court
The controversy over the SIR process has now reached the Supreme Court. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the apex court against the Election Commission, questioning the fairness of the process. A day earlier, Mamata Banerjee had sought the court's intervention, saying the move was necessary to protect democracy. On Wednesday, she became the first sitting Chief Minister to argue in person in the Supreme Court.
What is SIR and why the controversy?
SIR is a regular process of the Election Commission, under which the voter list is updated. However, in Bengal, there are fears that if a person does not have old documents, he or she may be declared illegal. This fear has deepened due to the experiences during the NRC in Assam. The Election Commission says that the purpose of SIR is only to correct the voter list, not to question anyone's citizenship.