Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), demanding dissolution of the Lok Sabha and fresh elections, citing widespread irregularities in the voter list. Speaking at the Kolkata airport, he questioned the integrity of the electoral process and accused the BJP of using a tampered voter list to come to power.

“In one EPIC number, there are multiple voters. And this is not data provided by any political party, this is ECI’s data. Why should the BJP defend the ECI?” Banerjee asked, challenging the ruling party to respond. He alleged that BJP’s silence and the crackdown on protesting opposition MPs in Delhi were signs of a cover-up.

His comments followed a protest in Delhi where MPs from the INDIA bloc, including several TMC representatives, were detained by police. “If they had honest answers, they would have engaged in a discussion yesterday. Instead, the MPs were arbitrarily detained. Women MPs were harassed and dragged to the PS. Our MP Mitali Bag fell unconscious,” he said. Reports also indicated TMC MP Mahua Moitra fainted during the crackdown.

Banerjee demanded “criminal proceedings against the former CEC” if the voter list was tampered with and action against anyone who won based on it — “including the Prime Minister and Home Minister.” He said he was ready to resign: “The BJP came to power using this same voter list. If needed, I will also resign. Let there be fresh elections.”

“It cannot be that your voter list was all clear and Bengal’s is faulty,” he asserted, calling the voter fraud issue a national problem and accusing BJP of deflecting blame to opposition-ruled states.