Restore previous elected govt in West Bengal, says TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee after SC’s SIR observations

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has questioned the electoral legitimacy of the BJP government in West Bengal and urged the Supreme Court to “restore” the previous dispensation and direct fresh elections within six months.

Mr. Banerjee, the MP of Diamond Harbour, made the remark after the Supreme Court said it has not yet adjudicated the legality of the Election Commission’s use of the “logical discrepancy” category to scrutinise voters’ details during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Observing that its earlier permission for the exercise in West Bengal was only an interim arrangement, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana said that its decision in the Bihar SIR matter did not amount to a final determination of every issue arising from the SIR.

“What a convenient democracy! If a manipulated mandate can produce a full-fledged government, what remains of electoral legitimacy? By this logic, the present State Government should be treated as INTERIM,” he said in a social media post, reacting to a report on the apex court’s observations.

“The SC must restore the previous elected government in West Bengal and direct fresh elections within six months, ensuring that every eligible voter wrongfully excluded from the electoral rolls is reinstated. Otherwise, the only thing LOGICAL about this reasoning is how conveniently it overlooks the DISCREPANCIES,” he added.

The Supreme Court made the observations while hearing a plea alleging a lack of transparency in notices issued to voters during the ongoing SIR exercise in Delhi and when senior advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the poll body, submitted that the bench had examined every stage of the SIR process and upheld its validity.

Justice Bagchi said the court’s decision in the Bihar SIR matter did not amount to a final determination of every issue arising from the revision exercise.

“Bihar is not a final determination of every question arising in these proceedings. In Bihar, the Election Commission had not initially undertaken logical discrepancy as a category. We permitted it as an interim arrangement in West Bengal. We have not finally adjudicated upon the legality of the logical discrepancy exercise,” Justice Bagchi said.