We were insulted and humiliated, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee after meeting ECI

Accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “parroting” the ruling BJP’s line, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked out of the panel’s office on Monday (February 2, 2026), alleging that she was “insulted and humiliated” by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the meeting.

Ms. Banerjee, accompanied by TMC MPs and 12 voters from West Bengal — five of whom were declared dead and had their names deleted from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — met the ECI to raise objections. The delegation wore black shawls as a mark of protest.

She alleged that West Bengal was being “deliberately targeted” and claimed that 58 lakh voters had been removed from the rolls without being given a chance to defend themselves. Ms. Banerjee also questioned why the SIR exercise was not being conducted in BJP-ruled States and was limited to Opposition-ruled West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. She said her party did not oppose SIR in principle, but it should not have been carried out in a “hurried manner”.

“…If you had to do SIR, you should have left the election-bound States out of it and undertaken it with proper planning. You have a BJP government in Assam. You didn’t do SIR in Assam, but you did it in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” she said.

Accusing the ECI of attempting to “choose the government before the election”, she said she has “never seen an Election Commissioner so arrogant and such a liar” in her long political career. “You have the power of the BJP. We have the power of the people. So we boycotted the meeting. They insulted us, humiliated us. This type of Election Commission is very arrogant. He behaved deliberately and spoke with a certain attitude. We came seeking justice; instead, he is doing injustice and telling lies. He is a great liar,” she alleged, adding that the CEC did not respond to five letters sent by her party.

Ms. Banerjee further questioned the ECI’s demand for documents such as “birth certificates” of voters’ parents. “I respect Advani ji and ask him whether he can provide the birth certificates of his father and mother,” she said, adding that she doubted whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi could furnish such documents for his parents. She also claimed that more than 150 people, including Booth Level Officers (BLOs), had died during the SIR process. “I have brought 100 people with me. Some of them were declared dead in the voters’ list, yet they are alive and present here,” she said.

While asserting that she respects the ECI as an institution, Ms. Banerjee said the present panel, especially Mr. Kumar, was working under the BJP’s direction. “As long as he remains in the chair, it is dangerous for the country,” she added. She also accused the poll panel of paralysing her government and preventing it from functioning.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Banerjee alleged that people from Bengal had come to raise their issues with the EC but were being “threatened”. She also questioned the heavy police deployment outside Banga Bhawan. According to party sources, around 50 families affected by the SIR have been brought to the national capital. TMC leaders said the 12 representatives who met the EC top brass included people wrongly declared dead and relatives of individuals who allegedly died “due to SIR”.