File photo of Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Branding the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission (EC) as ‘Software Intensive Rigging’, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) stressed on the need for more “transparency” in the ongoing process for electoral roll revision in West Bengal.
Their remarks come a day after the Supreme Court’s observations criticising the EC for causing “stress and strain” to the ordinary people of West Bengal where 1.36 crore people, almost 20% of the State’s population, have received notices from the poll body to explain “logical discrepancies” in their names and family backgrounds.
The Trinamool leader said the people would fight those who were making the electoral process “burdensome” for them.
Addressing the press conference at the party’s office in New Delhi, Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien reiterated that the Trinamool is not against the SIR. “We are for SIR, but we are for a transparent, planned, humane SIR,” he said. He urged the Commission to release the transcripts of the discussions.
‘Great institution being dismantled’
“What does SIR actually stand for? Software Intensive Rigging… The EC is one of the great institutions of our country, which has kept democracy vibrant for so many decades, but what has been happening now is a dismantling of this great institution,” Mr. O’Brien said at the press conference. He also questioned the multiple changes in the procedures. Mr. O’Brien also urged the Commission to implement the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) fairly, and not direct it at the Opposition parties alone.
Targeting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, he pointed out that prior to his appointment to the EC, he retired as the secretary of the Ministry of Cooperation under Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also the Minister of Cooperation.
His colleague in the Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghosh, alleged that although the SIR was earlier conducted in Bihar, the exercise was ultimately “aimed at West Bengal to disenfranchise the voters of the State”. She also questioned why the category of “logical discrepancies”, which did not exist in Bihar, had been introduced for West Bengal.
Mr. O’Brien further said, “We are glad that the people of Bengal are fighting this — it is not TMC versus somebody else. This is the people of Bengal versus those who are trying to make the electoral process burdensome on the elector.”
The party had posted on social media on Monday (January 19, 2026), “The SC has rightly ordered that the names of those arbitrarily slapped with the vague, sinister label of ‘logical discrepancy’ must be publicly published. The BJP-ECI combine has been exposed for the Bangla birodhi zamindars (landowners against the Bangla people) they are.”
Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also hailed the development. “The BJP’s game of SIR has ended. This is a victory of ma (mother), maati (earth), manush (human) and the people of Bengal. Those who wanted to take away the fundamental right of voting of the people of Bengal, this is a tight slap on both their cheeks by the Supreme Court,” Mr. Banerjee had said at a public meeting on Monday (January 19).
Published – January 20, 2026 04:59 pm IST
