Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday questioned the legal protection available to the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners under the 2023 law, while criticising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Banerjee referred to Kumar as “Vanish Kumar” and said people would not forgive those whom she alleged were responsible for voters losing their rights. Her remarks come amid an ongoing political and legal dispute over the electoral-roll revision exercise.

Banerjee said the TMC had opposed the SIR process from the beginning and alleged that the Election Commission centralised the exercise. She claimed that the party had approached the courts and the Election Commission over cases involving voters, but did not receive the response it expected. She also alleged that TMC MPs who sought to meet the CEC were treated dismissively. These claims are part of the TMC's criticism of the Election Commission's handling of the electoral-roll revision.

The TMC chief also questioned the immunity provision under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The law provides protection from civil or criminal proceedings for acts, words or actions undertaken by a serving or former CEC or EC in the course of, or purportedly in the course of, official duties. The constitutional validity and provisions of the 2023 Act are themselves under challenge before the Supreme Court.

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Banerjee further alleged that voter deletions during the SIR had disproportionately affected constituencies and areas where the TMC had won in the West Bengal Assembly elections. She also alleged that the BJP was behind incidents involving the burning of around 4,000 electronic voting machines and claimed that TMC leaders and workers were facing restrictions in the state. These allegations were made by Banerjee at the press conference and have not been established as facts in the information available.

The controversy comes as questions surrounding the Election Commission's functioning have also reached the Supreme Court. On September 29, the court agreed to list a plea challenging alleged unilateral decision-making by CEC Gyanesh Kumar, including issues concerning electoral rolls and the centralisation of voter data. Separately, a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict on September 23 on whether challenges to the 2023 ECI appointments law should be referred to a larger bench, leaving the constitutional challenge pending.

Banerjee's latest remarks add to the TMC's continuing criticism of the Election Commission over the SIR process and the treatment of electoral-roll changes in West Bengal. The dispute involves both political allegations and pending legal questions, including challenges concerning the 2023 law and the powers and functioning of the Election Commission. The Election Commission's position and the courts' eventual decisions will determine the legal status of the issues being contested.

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