Kolkata, 24 September (H.S.) : Amid growing reports of internal discord within the Election Commission of India, Mamata All India Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday escalated his offensive against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, releasing purported screenshots of an internal WhatsApp group involving poll observers. The Diamond Harbour MP alleged a coordinated conspiracy to unlawfully purge nearly 30 lakh voters from the electoral rolls to silence opposition voices and extend an undue advantage to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Sharing the leaked communications on social media, Banerjee stated that the messages, dating back to April, raised alarming questions regarding the deliberate deletion of electors from the voter rolls. He asserted that the evidence could neither be swept under the carpet nor answered with institutional silence, declaring that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Chief Justice of India face pressing questions before the nation. Emphasizing that the public is actively watching and demanding answers, the parliamentarian called for an immediate court-monitored independent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court, alongside the arrest of the Chief Election Commissioner.

The allegations follow recent revelations of substantial friction within the three-member constitutional panel, where two Election Commissioners had reportedly registered formal objections on multiple occasions regarding decisions taken during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Banerjee contended that under the pretext of the revision exercise, legitimate voters were selectively disenfranchised across states including West Bengal, Haryana, and Bihar. He argued that altering voter registration norms, modifying procedural forms without consensus, and restructuring oversight of electoral databases severely undermined institutional neutrality.

Sharpening his political attack, Banerjee maintained that deploying handpicked appointees to constitutional posts to serve partisan political ends strikes at the foundation of Indian democracy, asserting that those responsible must ultimately face accountability before the law. He remarked that institutional overreach aimed at suppressing Bengal has backfired politically, adding that the country now awaits decisive constitutional intervention from the Supreme Court to safeguard democratic integrity.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh