West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari says the deletion of about 27 lakh names from the State Internal Revision (SIR) voter-related database is not the responsibility of the BJP or the Election Commission. He attributes the move to judicial officers, who he says act on directions from the Supreme Court.
Adhikari adds that the Supreme Court directions followed a case filed by Mamata Banerjee. He argues that Banerjee is trying to shift blame after losing in the Assembly elections, according to outlets reporting his comments. The Election Commission, meanwhile, is cited as responding to the allegations by stating that 22.21 lakh of the deleted voters had filed appeals seeking restoration of their names.
Across the reports, the core explanation for the deletions centers on court-directed action and the role of a Supreme Court-linked case associated with Banerjee. The differing emphasis is on Adhikari’s political framing of blame versus the Election Commission’s figures about appeals for restoration.
