Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee directed remarks at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Thursday, taking aim at the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. She referred to him as "Vanish Kumar" and raised questions about the legal protections afforded to Election Commission members.

Banerjee stated that Kumar had deprived people of their rights, and questioned whether forgiveness toward him remained possible. At a press conference held in New Delhi, she stated that the TMC had raised objections to the SIR exercise in West Bengal from its outset. She further contended that the Election Commission had concentrated control over the process, and noted that a legal challenge had been pursued without a favourable outcome, adding that the people of India would hold him accountable.

A group of 100 affected individuals was brought before the electoral commission to lodge their accounts. She alleged that the party's parliamentary representatives, upon arriving to meet with the Chief Election Commissioner, were turned away and told to leave, which she described as a direct affront to the delegation.

Banerjee also scrutinised the protections from legal liability afforded to the Chief Election Commissioner and fellow election commissioners under the 2023 appointment and service conditions legislation. The legislation shields current and former members of the Chief Election Commissioner's office and the Election Commission from civil or criminal liability for actions, decisions, or statements made in the course of their official functions. One view holds that this provision raises no concern provided those holding such posts fulfil their constitutional responsibility of overseeing the electoral process, a position that has been acknowledged. Banerjee raised the question of whether immunity protections allow someone to hold office without accountability.

Regarding voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision, Banerjee contended that constituencies and areas where the TMC had secured victories in the West Bengal Assembly elections held earlier in the year were bearing a disproportionate share of the removals. She added that in areas her party had carried, the number of voters struck off the rolls ran to roughly four times the rate seen elsewhere.

Banerjee further claimed that the BJP had orchestrated the destruction of roughly 4,000 electronic voting machines across West Bengal. No independent corroboration of that claim appeared in her address.

Her remarks also covered two further points: that TMC members and the party had been facing barriers and pressure within the state, and that no court order had been in place to authorise her departure from home. She stated that gatherings under the party's banner were not being permitted, that formal complaints had been lodged against the party's members, and that protective measures were absent even at their own place of residence. She noted that between 200 and 300 people gather outside the residence on a daily basis, raising their voices and engaging in disruptive behaviour, and that once 8 pm arrives, the streets are left without any traffic.

The comments came the day after opposition parties had gathered under the INDIA bloc banner in New Delhi to deliberate on the SIR exercise and how the Election Commission had been operating. Calls from opposition ranks for action against Kumar ran alongside the Election Commission's position that its rulings adhere to procedures set out under existing law.