Kolkata, Aug 13 (PTI) Continuing his criticism against the Election Commission’s move for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government should dissolve the Lok Sabha immediately if the prime minister truly supports the exercise.
On Tuesday, Banerjee — TMC’s national general secretary and widely seen as the party’s second-in-command — had asserted that the "EC cannot selectively say" that voter lists are fine in some states but faulty in West Bengal.
"If SIR of electoral rolls is conducted, it should be held across the country," he said, adding that the first step should be the resignation of the PM and his cabinet, followed by the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
In a post on Wednesday, the Diamond Harbour MP wrote, "The EC has stated that the voter lists across various states on the basis of which the general elections were held barely a year ago in 2024, are faulty and riddled with irregularities."
"If that is indeed the case, and if the Government of India agrees with the EC’s assessment, then the first step towards conducting a genuine SIR and standing on moral high ground is the immediate dissolution of Lok Sabha. If one truly supports the idea of SIR, then, as per the EC’s own statement, the people of this country have been betrayed," he added.
"Also, if the new chief election commissioner is truly as competent as claimed, then the SIR should be implemented across the country, not selectively in poll-bound states," he pointed out.
Recommending the steps to be adopted by EC to fulfil his demands, he said "@ECISVEEP ECISVEEP AAP CHRONOLOGY SAMAJ LIJIYE: 1) Dissolve the House! 2) Conduct SIR across the country! 3) Go for elections and face the people!"
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday here, Banerjee said, "Even if I accept EC’s claim that there are irregularities in the voter list, this very list was used in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, based on which the current PM and government were elected. If there are irregularities now, the entire Union Ministry must resign."
Banerjee had added that "criminal proceedings" should also be initiated against then chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar because it was under his vigilance and supervision that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were conducted.