A five-member parliamentary delegation of Trinamul, expressing concerns about the recent deactivation of Aadhaar cards and the role of central agencies in the election process, met chief election commission Rajiv Kumar in New Delhi on Monday.

The team of Trinamul MPs sought the intervention of the poll body to guarantee a transparent and impartial electoral process.

Emerging from the meeting, the members of the Trinamul delegation comprising MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Pratima Mondal, Dola Sen, Sajda Ahmed and Saket Gokhale said that the chief election commissioner had assured them that Aadhaar cards were not mandatory for people to cast their vote.

Speaking to reporters outside the EC building, Ray said: “The chief election commission assured us that voters will not be stopped from exercising their franchise even if they don't have an Aadhaar card. Voters can show their voter ID card or any other specified identity documents.”

Trinamul also brought up the matter of establishing district intelligence committees by the EC to supervise election expenditures, in which Enforcement Directorate officers will be included.

"The EC has decided to create district intelligence committees for financially sensitive areas. These committees will consist of members from both state and central agencies, including police, IT, excise, GST and ED officers, among others.

This marks the first instance of such a committee being formed for Bengal," the Trinamul delegation said in its memorandum submitted to the chief election commissioner.

Ray, however, said that Kumar had assured them that this initiative was being implemented across the country, and that state agencies would also be included in these district committees.

The Trinamul delegation also highlighted the recent deaths of four children during a trench-digging project near the India-Bangladesh border in Uttar Dinajpur's Chopra. The Trinamul leadership has been blaming the "neglect" and "apathy" of the central Border Security Force for this tragedy.

The delegation also expressed its fears about the perceived highhanded approach of the central forces, as allegedly witnessed in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections.