Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a book she said she has penned on the alleged harassment faced by electors during the ongoing hearings for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral roll.
Chief Minister Banerjee, while launching the book at the 49th Kolkata International Book Fair on Thursday, slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the deaths of at least 110 people.
Addressing the inauguration of the book fair, Banerjee said, “Out of the many books, one is on the harassment that people are facing due to the SIR. As the year is 2026, I have penned down 26 poems in two to three days while travelling.”
“I don’t have the time to write. I write when I am travelling to the districts. I prefer using a pen and paper rather than writing on a computer. I don’t get satisfaction if I write on a computer. I use the computer for official work,” she added.
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The chief minister said that around 153 books written by her have been published to date. Nine more were published on Thursday at the book fair.
“SIR is going on. Around 110 people have already died. People are standing in queues (at hearing centres) every day for hours. Questions are being asked about whether a person has more than five children. ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’ is a new concept. Earlier, it wasn’t the case. How can I bring the birth certificate of my parents? They were all born at home. Atal Behari Vajpayee once told me that his actual birthday was not December 25,” she added.
She also criticised the ECI for sending hearing notices to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
“Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was sent a hearing notice. What can be more shameful than this? Earlier, people used to elect a government. Now the ECI is deciding that by curtailing the voting rights of people. This can’t happen. Everyone should protest. If my neighbour’s house is on fire, I can’t sit silent,” she added.
SIR was rolled out in West Bengal on November 4, 2025, and the draft electoral roll was published on December 16. The last date for submission of claims and objections was January 15. The ECI had extended it till January 19. The hearing process is scheduled to continue till February 7 before the final electoral roll is published on February 14.
The chief minister said that around “2.7 million people” visited last year’s book fair and that the 48th Kolkata International Book Fair recorded a “trade of around ₹2.3 crore”. This year’s book fair is expected to do more business, she added.
