India, Feb. 17 -- West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee stepped up her attack on the Election Commission - accusing it of "colluding" with the Centre's ruling BJP to "manipulate" voter lists as part of the SIR exercise - and said, "If Bengal government's officers are victimised (by the ECI), we will 100 per cent protect them, and promote those who are demoted."

Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, the Trinamool Congress boss called the ECI "Tughlaqi commission", drawing parallels with Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq and even Adolf Hitler, saying the poll panel had "inflicted torture" on voters in Bengal, which is set for polls in a couple of months.

She alleged that the commission was violating rules, defying Supreme C...