BANKURA (WB), Dec 31: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was a “huge scam” being carried out with the help of artificial intelligence, and warned that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would gherao the Election Commission’s office in Delhi if the name of even a single legitimate voter is deleted.

Addressing a rally in Bankura district, Banerjee claimed that people in the state were being “harassed and tortured” in the name of SIR, alleging that around 60 people had died during the process and that elderly citizens were being summoned for document verification hearings.

“If even one genuine voter’s name is removed from the rolls, the TMC will gherao the Election Commission in Delhi,” she said, adding that the people of West Bengal would not tolerate such harassment.

Banerjee further alleged that the BJP had stationed its members at the EC’s Delhi office and accused them of using AI to delete nearly 54 lakh names from the voter list, falsely attributing the deletions to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). She claimed that the EROs’ association had written letters denying involvement in the exercise.

Citing alleged anomalies, Banerjee said minor spelling differences in surnames were leading to deletions. Urging affected voters to exercise their rights, she asked them to submit Forms 7 and 8 to restore their names.

The chief minister also expressed concern over TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s son being summoned for an SIR hearing and criticised the Election Commission for not allowing TMC booth-level agents to be present during the hearings.

Questioning the legality of the process, Banerjee demanded written guidelines from the EC, stating that instructions conveyed through WhatsApp had “no value”, and said she would approach the court seeking justice.