KOLKATA: The Election Commission of India’s decision to extend the schedules of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in 12 states, including West Bengal, has prompted ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition CPI-M and Congress to come together to criticise the Commission for its move.

Coming down heavily on the Commission, the Bengal leadership of Trinamool Congress, CPI-M and Congress said that it should have considered the situation earlier because the SIR exercise was not at all possible within such a short timeline.

But the BJP’s Bengal unit has welcomed the national poll panel’s decision to extend the SIR timeline by one week.

The ruling party in the state alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was instrumental in the decision.

“The Election Commission of India (ECI) extended the SIR schedules so that BJP can get some political advantages ahead of the assembly polls next year. The party has fixed a target number of voters from the electoral rolls during the ongoing exercise in the state. With the extension of schedules, the commission proved again that it works for BJP. But people of Bengal will again vote Trinamool Congress to power,” Arup Chakraborty, spokesperson of the ruling party in the state, said.

The saffron camp in the state has been claiming that more than one crore dead and bogus, including Bangladeshi infiltrators, will be deleted from the voters’ list following the SIR process.

“The Election Commission has no idea about the ground reality in Bengal because it’s run by bureaucracy. Today’s notification issued by the national poll body once again proved that it has neither any planning nor the eligibility to conduct such a drive in the state,” said Md Salim, CPI-M secretary, West Bengal.