‘Is EC trying to bring NRC through the backdoor?’: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday criticised the Election Commission of India ECI alleging that the poll body is isolating voters born between July 1987 and December 2004 by demanding documentary evidence of their citizenship under the guise of special intensive revision of electoral rolls reported PTIMamata Banerjee further accused the ECI of acting like a stooge of the BJP and questioned whether this move represented a backdoor attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens NRCAddressing reporters in the coastal town of Digha in Purba Medinipur district where she is currently stationed to oversee preparations for and participate in Fridays Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath from the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple CM Mamata Banerjee stated she had called the press conference urgently to address this issue of utmost concernShe further revealed I have received two letters from the ECI each comprising 2530 pages I havent been able to go through them in detail so far But from what I have understood from a cursory glance the Commission is now seeking a declaration form from voters born between July 1 1987 and December 2 2004 which is Annexure D in one of the letters where they will have to submit birth certificates of both parents as proof of citizenshipThe CM expressing her bewilderment stated I dont understand the reason behind the ECI move or the rationale behind selecting these dates This is nothing short of a scam I seek clarification from the Commission on whether they are trying to implement the NRC through backdoors In fact this looks to be more dangerous than the NRC which every political party in opposition must resistBanerjee also disclosed that while the letters were sent to the Bihar government a copy was forwarded to her She alleged Nothing will happen in Bihar because the BJP rules that state and the state elections there are at the doorstep Their real target is Bengal They want to delete the names of valid young voters Many parents will not be able to furnish their birth certificates They are targeting the migrant worker community of Bengal students villagers and uneducated votersThe assembly elections in Bihar are due later this yearA dangerous games afoot and its alarming for our democracy the Trinamool Congress TMC supremo asserted Banerjee further accused the ECI of acting according to the wishes of the BJP and openly challenged its authority to unilaterally impose such rulesHow can the ECI do this unilaterally without consulting the recognised political parties at the central and state levels who play a key role in running the countrys democratic structure They are treating us like bonded labourers and doing this only to fulfil the wishes of a certain RSS pracharak who is now running the country for all practical purposes the Chief Minister stated implicitly referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah without naming himReferring to an alleged previous ECI notice that sought details of boothlevel agents of the Trinamool Congress she accused the commission of acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation at the Centre rhetorically asking Why should I reveal the names of my booth agents So that the BJP can purchase themHowever alleging that the commission was aiding the BJP in enlisting individuals from outside the state as voters in Bengal Banerjee urged a revision of ECI guidelines We ask the commission to rectify the voters list by means of proper guidelines so that names of valid voters are not deleted We ask the poll panel not to pressurise common people to accept their verdict My humble request to the EC is that it should act impartially like it is expected to she urgedThe Chief Minister further maintained that while Bengal was the BJPs primary target behind the ECIs actions other nonBJP states would soon face similar scrutinyThis ploy is now clear as daylight We are the first to respond But I urge the other opposition parties to take serious note of this and build resistance she appealed Urging people to remain vigilant against such attempts to snatch away their right to vote Banerjee warned that the move would ultimately backfire on the BJPHowever she concluded saying Citizens should keep a keen eye on their status in electoral roles till the very end Else they might find their names struck off and sent to detention camps Thats the intention of the BJP adding that the TMC will build up peoples resistance against this and we will soon hit the streetsWith inputs from PTI