Will citizens now have to prove their citizenship in order to exercise their right to vote? Is this "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) actually a new NRC silently implemented behind an administrative curtain?
And the most important question has the Election Commission ceased to be an independent institution and become an instrument of a political agenda?
These are the questions echoing across West Bengal's political landscape today. From Kolkata to Delhi, from the streets to the courts the debate over "SIR" is no longer limited to the accuracy of the voter list; it has now drawn a dividing line between democracy and citizenship.
3 persons in different districts of West Bengal tried suicide out of fear of SIR and two died also .Is this right just out of fear this step of suicide took place when it's really implemented what Will happen one can think, it will create Havoc.
Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, challenging the Election Commission, said, "You started this game we will finish it. If even one genuine voter's name is removed from the list, we will march to Delhi and lay siege to the Commission."
Banerjee accused the Election Commission of playing into the BJP's hands, saying,"After deleting 47 lakh voters in Bihar, Bengal is now being targeted. This is not verification it's vengeance."
He further said that the SIR framework designed before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has now quietly transformed into a citizenship verification exercise "An exercise in which a voter is treated not as a citizen, but as a suspect." 300 Organisations Demand: "Dissolve the Election Commission"
Meanwhile, at the "National Conclave on Democratic Governance and Citizens' Rights" held in Chennai, more than 300 organisations including former judges, IAS officers, and social activists passed a joint resolution.
The resolution stated that, "The present Election Commission has become biased, opaque, and derelict in its constitutional duties. It should be dissolved immediately and replaced by a new, non-political and independent commission."
They also questioned,
"If SIR truly aims for transparency, why is it being implemented only in select states? Why are sensitive border states like Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, and West Bengal being prioritised?"
Under the Shadow of NRC A New Crop of Suicides
In Kolkata's Ekotikuni area, an ordinary citizen allegedly committed suicide out of fear of NRC and SIR. According to the family,"He was repeatedly told that if he didn't show papers, his name would be struck off the list."
This is not just a suicide it's a silent warning, that the SIR has rekindled the same fear among common people that was witnessed during the NRC. The Trinamool Congress reacted sharply to the incident, while state Congress president Shankar Sarkar questioned: "Isn't the fear of SIR and NRC in Bengal another step towards eroding public trust? Why is the Election Commission silent?"
Governor's Statement: "SIR is a Democratic Process" But Questions Remain West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose said that SIR is a "democratic and transparent process" aimed at removing "fake voters." But the question remains who decides who is fake? Is poverty, landlessness, or lack of documents now a marker of being fake?
Will a poor labourer, Dalit, or minority citizen lose their right to vote simply because they don't possess old papers?
Congress president Subhankar Sarkar stated that he is not against SIR, but the process must be given adequate time to be properly implemented in Bengal otherwise, the Congress will move court.
The CPI(ML) has proposed to launch a public awareness campaign on the issue. Democracy or the Rule of Documents?
The Election Commission's role is to protect the people's right to vote, not to doubt it.If citizens must prove their citizenship before voting, the system ceases to be democratic it becomes bureaucratic authoritarianism. Have we entered an era where one must prove they are a citizen before casting a vote? Is the SIR a conspiracy to erode public confidence?
And has the same Election Commission, once the guardian of democracy, now begun to shake its very foundations?
These are not merely political questions they concern the very existence of the nation