Kolkata

Hitting out at the Election Commission, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday alleged that poll officials were continuing to flout Supreme Court directives by issuing directions to their subordinates through WhatsApp during the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

Sharing purported screenshots of a WhatsApp group chat on X, Banerjee said SC has repeatedly emphasised transparency, due process, and adherence to official channels of communication.

"Yet we are witnessing instructions being circulated over WhatsApp rather than through formal, traceable, and accountable mechanisms," he said.

He also questioned instructions sent by Special Roll Observer C Murugan directly to micro observers.

"Even more disturbing are credible reports of Special Roll Observer, C. Murugan, issuing instructions regarding the acceptability of birth certificates directly to Micro Observers in a WhatsApp group, to inflate deletion numbers. Need I remind the ECI of the Supreme Court's categorical directive that the role of micro-observers must remain strictly assistive?" he asked.

Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, questioned why the statutory procedure was being "bypassed" and under whose instructions it was being done.

He also alleged that login credentials of roll observers linked to specific districts were being accessed centrally from Kolkata and "misused".

"Login Data is being misused to generate queries and specifically target a certain community at the direction of ECI's political masters in Delhi. Should this matter be independently examined, it will be established that the tower location and IP address of the login device differ from the actual location of the concerned roll observer," he claimed.

The TMC leader said his party would take up the matter before the Supreme Court, which was hearing multiple petitions against the SIR exercise, including one moved by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

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"The Election Commission derives its legitimacy from PUBLIC TRUST, not POLITICAL PATRONAGE. We shall pursue this matter before the highest court of law. Further, any person aligning themselves with or acting at the behest of Zamindars of Delhi will face stringent and uncompromising legal action. Brace yourselves!" he said.

The allegations were levelled less than 24 hours after the CM tore into the poll body, calling it a "Tughlaqui commission", and accused it of acting at the behest of the BJP to manipulate the voters' lists in the state.