NEW DELHI: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee condemned the special intensive care audit underway in the state, claiming that the process, which was expected to be constructive, had already claimed 77 lives while several more required hospitalization.In her letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the CM wrote: “It is shocking that an exercise that should have been constructive and productive has already resulted in 77 deaths, four suicide attempts and 17 illnesses requiring hospitalization.”She further stated that the process “relentlessly harasses ordinary citizens” and that the revision of voter lists is done solely on the basis of technical data without any human judgment. Mamata alleged that the ECI conducted the process without proper planning, which led to fear and intimidation. “This is attributed to fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload due to the unplanned exercise conducted by ECI,” the CM wrote. ’77 deaths due to SIR’: Mamata makes blast charges against EC again; points to “inhumane” conditions”
“Harassment of citizens”
Mamata Banerjee attacked the ECI, claiming that the changes would subject citizens to undue pressure and administrative control. She wrote: “I am deeply shocked and disturbed by the way this is happening Election Commission of India (ECI) seems to be relentlessly harassing ordinary citizens during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR).”She stressed the importance of human intervention and judgment in this process and said that this revision forms the basis of democracy and the constitutional framework.“The listening process has become largely mechanical, driven purely by technical data and entirely devoid of the application of reason, sensitivity and human touch that are essential to an exercise of this kind – an exercise that lies directly at the foundation of our democracy and our constitutional framework,” she wrote.On Monday, Mamata Banerjee had announced her plan to move to the Supreme Court over the “inhumane treatment” of citizens during the SIR. The revision campaign has been going on in West Bengal for over two months. This has caused confusion among citizens and extreme stress on field personnel. Several BLOs reportedly died of health complications or suicide due to the increased workload.
