“Mamata Banerjee has no right to talk about democracy”: BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], October 2 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday hit back at former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over her allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the conduct of the 2026 state Assembly polls, saying she has "no right to talk about democracy and democratic rights."
Speaking to reporters on Banerjee's remarks, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “…I have witnessed the atrocities committed in Bengal under Mamata Banerjee's rule. People were not allowed to cast their votes or file nominations for Gram Panchayat elections, and those who protested were thrown into jail. Mamata Banerjee has no right to talk about democracy and democratic rights.”
Prasad's remarks came a day after Mamata Banerjee stepped up her criticism of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and raised questions over the conduct of the West Bengal Assembly polls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Banerjee also alleged that CCTV footage of voting in every constituency should be preserved and claimed that the CEC "worked to deprive people of their rights".
Addressing a press conference, Banerjee alleged that “EVMs were hacked” during the West Bengal Assembly polls, which the TMC lost. The BJP formed its first government in the state after the Assembly elections earlier this year.
Banerjee also attacked the statutory protection available to the Chief Election Commissioner and raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, alleging that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) had been left “with no authority”. She alleged that the exercise was designed to benefit the BJP.
She also referred to a fire at a government building in Kolkata's Alipore area in June, in which EVMs were destroyed. Kolkata Police constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. Banerjee raised questions over the incident and linked it to her concerns over the election process.
The TMC chief also questioned the deployment of “large central forces” during the West Bengal Assembly elections and alleged that the security apparatus was used to influence the electoral process. She said her party had raised its concerns before and during the elections but alleged that its complaints were not acted upon.
“Is this a mockery of democracy? What a scandalous joke this is. You cannot treat people like this,” she said.
Banerjee further alleged that the SIR process had affected people who were otherwise eligible to remain on the electoral rolls.
Her remarks came a day after a meeting of INDIA bloc parties, which strongly demanded the removal of Gyanesh Kumar from the post of Chief Election Commissioner. Banerjee has also alleged that her party was leading by 53,000 votes during the counting process and accused security personnel of preventing its agents from entering, while alleging that CCTV cameras were blocked and EVMs were hacked. (ANI)