WEST Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday walked out of a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR issue, accusing him of being “arrogant” and alleging that the poll panel had “humiliated” their delegation. Wearing black shawls as a mark of “protest”, the TMC supremo, accompanied by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and MP Kalyan Banerjee, and 12 members of “SIR affected families” from West Bengal, met Chief Election Commissioner Kumar and fellow ECs here, her party said. Banerjee, who has been demanding a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in her poll-bound state, later said they “boycotted” the meeting in protest, while Election Commission (EC) officials claimed she left in a huff without listening to the response of the EC top brass on the issues raised by her.

 

The CEC told the TMC leaders that the “rule of law will prevail” and anybody taking the law into their own hands will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the provisions of law and powers vested in the Commission, the EC officials said. Talking to the media after coming out of the Election Commission’s headquarters here, the West Bengal CM launched a fresh tirade against the poll panel, accusing it of working as the BJP’s “dalal” (middleman). CEC Kumar told the TMC leadership that its MLAs are openly using abusive and threatening language against the Commission and especially against the CEC.