CM Mamata writes to Gyanesh Kumar, says ‘exercise meant for inclusion turning into exclusion’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a sharply worded letter to Election Commission of India official Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is weakening democracy and harassing ordinary citizens. She said the process has become mechanical, insensitive and detached from the constitutional values it is meant to uphold.

In her letter dated January 10, 2026, Mamata claimed that an exercise intended to be constructive has instead resulted in severe human consequences. She cited reports of 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and at least 17 hospitalisations, attributing them to fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload arising from what she described as an unplanned ECI exercise.

The chief minister expressed strong objection to eminent personalities being summoned to prove their credentials, calling it an act of audacity. She named Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, poet Joy Goswami, actor and MP Deepak Adhikari, cricketer Mohammed Shami and the Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram Sangha as examples, adding that many ordinary citizens are facing similar harassment.

Mamata also flagged the treatment of women voters who changed their surnames after marriage, saying summoning them for identity verification reflects a lack of social sensitivity and insults genuine voters. She further alleged that poorly trained observers and micro-observers are acting beyond their mandate, with reports of citizens being labelled “Desh Drohi” and verbally abused.

Raising concerns over alleged political bias, Mamata claimed that so-called “logical discrepancies” are being selectively targeted in certain constituencies and that backend changes to the portal are creating confusion. She alleged the objective appears to be deletion rather than inclusion of voters, warning that such actions strike at the core of India’s democratic polity, and urged immediate corrective steps to reduce citizens’ suffering.