Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that an online agency appointed by the BJP has become active in West Bengal these days to misappropriate the voter list so that voters from other states can vote in the 2026 Assembly elections.
“As far as the information gathered by me, the two agencies which have been appointed for that purpose are the Association of Brilliant Minds and Company India 360. These agencies reached out to the data entry operators. They did this in association with some errant block-level returning officers. They are linking the names of voters from other states with the EPIC number of voters in West Bengal,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the meeting of Trinamool Congress here in the afternoon.
The Chief Minister also said she has noticed specific instances of voters from other states, like Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, and Rajasthan. “The maximum are from Haryana and Gujarat,” she said.
She also said the same misappropriations were done before the elections in states like Delhi, Maharashtra and Haryana, which helped the BJP to win there. “The other parties there were unable to catch the trick. But we in Bengal have been able to identify the trick well in advance, and hence we will never allow the plot to be successful here,” the Chief Minister said.
Thereafter, she announced the formation of district-level core committees of her party whose only task will be to identify such alleged misappropriations at the respective districts.
“These district-level core committees will send the reports from their respective districts to a centralized committee created for that purpose, which will be headed by the party’s state president in West Bengal, Subrata Bakshi. The task of identifying the bogus voters will have to be completed within the next 10 days. If the said committee fails in the task, then I will myself identify the bogus voters,” the Chief Minister said.
Earlier in the day, Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over its reluctance to reveal the full identity of “One Abhishek Banerjee” in the charge sheet filed by it in a case.
Addressing the party workers at the grand meet, he said, “It is shown in the news that the CBI has filed a charge sheet against me. My name has been mentioned twice in the charge sheet. Who is Abhishek? Where is his residence? No detailed introduction had been given there… CBI is speaking in an impersonal tone. I like this fear. But doublespeak is not in my nature. I have said before that if anyone can prove any corruption, I will go to the gallows. I am saying the same thing again,” he said while addressing the Trinamool Congress’ organisational meeting here in the afternoon.
He said that nothing had happened after the CBI had summoned him for questioning earlier. “Abhishek Banerjee will never bow down in front of anyone except the common people,” he added.
(IANS)
