‘Arrogant and a liar’: Mamata Banerjee blasts CEC Gyanesh Kumar after meeting over SIR issue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a scathing attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, calling him “arrogant and a liar” who works on the BJP’s directions.

CM Banerjee, along with TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and party MP Kalyan Banerjee, met CEC Kumar at the office of the Election Commission of India in Delhi. She also brought with her a group of people declared dead in the SIR exercise.

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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Banerjee accused the Election Commission of working under the ruling BJP’s direction. “They say whatever they have done is right. They did not allow any outside cameramen to enter. They are working under the BJP’s direction…,” she said.

The Bengal CM said that around 2 crore voters’ names have been removed from the draft electoral rolls, adding that she can bring lakhs of people here in Delhi, and parade them in front of anybody.

“More than 150 people died, including the BLOs, due to this SIR. I have brought 100 people with me. There are some of them who have been declared dead in the voters list, but they are alive and present here…,” she said.

Expressing her disappointment after meeting the CEC, Banerjee said that she has not seen “an Election Commissioner who is so arrogant, who is such a liar” in her entire political career.

#WATCH | Delhi: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee comes out of the Election Commission Office in Delhi.

She says, “I am very sad. I have been involved in politics in Delhi for a very long time. I was a minister 4 times and an MP 7 times. I have never seen such an Election… pic.twitter.com/2LayXFCfzy

— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2026

“I am very sad. I have been involved in politics in Delhi for a very long time. I was a minister 4 times and an MP 7 times. I have never seen such an Election Commissioner who is so arrogant, who is such a liar. I told him that I respect your chair because no chair is permanent for anyone. One day you have to go…,” she said.

CM Banerjee also claimed that West Bengal is being unnecessarily targeted in the name of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. “Why Bengal is being targeted. Elections are a festival in a democracy, but you deleted the names of 58 lakh people and did not allow them to defend themselves.”

The Bengal CM stated that the SIR exercise should have been done with proper planning and should have left the election-bound states. “You have a BJP government in Assam. You didn’t do SIR in Assam, but you did it in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. What did you do to us? You removed 58 lakh people. There’s a lot of mismatch and mismapping here.”

“If we had to SIR in 2022, and ask us to bring the birth certificates of our fathers, it would not have been possible. Earlier, children were born in homes and not in hospitals. Ask your Prime Minister if he has the institution delivery certificates of his father and mother,” she added.