West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday blamed former chief minister Mamata Banerjee for the deletion of 27 lakh names from the state's electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Adhikari said neither the BJP nor the Election Commission could be held responsible for the deletions. According to him, the decisions were taken by judicial officers following directions issued by the Supreme Court in a case filed by Banerjee.

“The responsibility for the deletion of 27 lakh names lies with Mamata Banerjee, not the BJP or the Election Commission,” Adhikari said at a press conference.

His remarks came amid a fresh political dispute over the SIR exercise, with the Trinamool Congress alleging that genuine voters had been removed from the electoral rolls and calling for their names to be restored.

Adhikari also questioned Banerjee's opposition to the SIR in West Bengal, pointing to the exercise in Kerala. He alleged that Banerjee was unwilling to accept the outcome of the recent Assembly elections.

“If SIR is good in Kerala, why is it bad in West Bengal?” he said, while referring to the election results and the seat tally of the ruling side and the opposition.

The statement came a day after Banerjee addressed a rally in Serampore and renewed her criticism of the Election Commission and the BJP over the voter-roll revision.

Adhikari also referred to a meeting held on Saturday between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. He said the meeting and the Election Commission's subsequent statement indicated that decisions concerning the Bengal SIR were not taken by the CEC alone.

The issue comes amid controversy over the functioning of the three-member Election Commission. An Indian Express investigation reported that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions connected with the SIR exercise, including matters relating to voter deletions.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differences during internal deliberations are normal and that its final decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were taken unanimously.