Trinamool Congress (AITC) national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, on Friday hit out at the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Centre, accusing them of colluding with the BJP to rig elections and persecuting the people of Bengal.

Speaking to mediapersons at NSC Bose International Airport upon his return from New Delhi, Banerjee highlighted the INDIA bloc’s concerns over the functioning of the ECI, alleging that it is “acting upon the directives of the BJP.” He stated that the issue of rigged elections was discussed in detail during the meeting, and that all leaders were briefed by Congress’s Rahul Gandhi.

Banerjee was particularly critical of the proposed Special Electoral Roll Revision (SIR) which he claims the BJP is trying to implement in Bengal at an unprecedented speed.

“The way a 1-2-year-long exercise is being completed in just 1-2 months will lead to poor people being the first to be left out,” he said, citing the example of Bihar, where 65 lakh names were removed.

Banerjee drew attention to the Congress’s own example of discrepancies in the Mahadevpura Assembly Constituency, suggesting that strong action should be taken against the former officials responsible.