E-Paper
‘First step should be PM’s resignation': Abhishek Banerjee slams EC over SIR in Bihar
Abhishek Banerjee said the EC cannot selectively say that the voter list is fine in some states like UP or MP, but not in others like Bihar or Bengal.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday raised concerns over the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet should resign and the Lok Sabha be dissolved if the Election Commission believes that there are discrepancies in the electoral rolls.
Abhishek, who is the national general secretary of TMC and nephew of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, said that the EC cannot selectively say that the voter list is fine in some states, like Gujarat or Uttar Pradesh, but not in West Bengal, Bihar or Tamil Nadu, PTI reported.
"If SIR (special intensive revision) of electoral rolls is conducted, it should be held across the country and the first step should be the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet and the Lok Sabha has to be dissolved," the TMC leader said, according to PTI.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the central government, saying if the current government is elected on the basis of the same voter list, then the legitimacy of the government is null and void.
"If the Election Commission is saying that there are discrepancies in the electoral rolls... the Lok Sabha should be dissolved and then SIR be held across the country," he said.
Abhishek Banerjee further said that the prime minister and over 240 MPs of the BJP were elected on the basis of the same voter list.
"The MPs elected on the basis of this voter list will also elect the country's President and the Vice-President," he added.
He said that the rules cannot be different for different states, adding that the BJP is getting SIR done in Bihar since it knows they would lose the assembly elections in the state. The assembly election in Bihar is due later this year.
"Rules cannot be different for different states, it should be the same for all states," he said, adding that the SIR should be held in all the states.
