Mamata tears into BJP, EC over SIR; warns of Modi govt’s fall if one eligible voter struck off rolls
Kolkata (PTI): Mounting a blistering attack on the BJP and the EC, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused them of turning the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists into a political tool for a "silent, invisible rigging" ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
She warned that the fall of the Narendra Modi government would be "inevitable" if even a single eligible voter was deleted from West Bengal's rolls during the SIR conducted by the Election Commission (EC) in the state.
Leading a massive anti-SIR rally through the heart of Kolkata, from Dharmatala to Jorasanko - the ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore, the CM, accompanied by her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, alleged that the BJP and the EC were "colluding to erase voters from opposition-ruled states" while sparing the ones governed by the saffron party.
"The BJP is conducting SIR in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, but not in BJP-ruled Assam, Tripura or other northeastern states," she thundered before a charged crowd.
The assembly polls are due in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal Assam next year.
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"Why is this bias? This is clear discrimination, aimed at helping the ruling party at the Centre," she said.
The Trinamool Congress supremo warned, "If even one genuine voter's name is struck off the rolls, the BJP government will be shaken to its core. The fall of this government will be inevitable."
Accusing the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom she mockingly called "kursi babu", of acting under political pressure, Banerjee said, "In 2002, Bengal's last SIR took two years to complete. Why the hurry to finish this one in a month? Just to make Modi Babu and Amit Shah happy?"
Questioning the BJP's claim of illegal voters in Bengal, she said, "They say they will expel Bangladeshis and Rohingyas. How many Rohingyas did they find in Bihar after SIR? Just speaking Bengali doesn't make someone a Bangladeshi. Speaking Urdu doesn't make someone a Pakistani. Bengal's identity cannot be insulted like this."
The TMC chief accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of hypocrisy.
"He criticises our so-called dynastic politics, yet he has appointed his own son to the highest post," she alleged, without naming him.
Taking on the Election Commission, the chief minister asked if the names of someone's parents are not on the list, would they have to prove again that they were born in this state?
"The Commission is creating multiple confusions in the rolls. Who will take responsibility for these mistakes? Wouldn't it have been better to conduct this exercise after the elections? Do we have to prove our citizenship even after so many years of birth and independence?" she said.
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She said that the TMC would continue the fight against the issue both on the streets and in courts.
"We will extend our support if they conduct the SIR after the Assembly polls. But how can you do it just months before the elections? This is nothing but a politically motivated move to intimidate voters," she said.
Banerjee also alleged that names of many voters were already being removed in the name of "mapping" and that several people had died from panic caused by the SIR process.
"The BJP is behind this chaos. People are dying because of the fear they are spreading," she charged.
Drawing parallels with the Centre's controversial policies, she recalled, "I had opposed demonetisation. They still went ahead with it. What did people gain? Nothing but hardship and humiliation. And yet they never apologised. What a shameless government!"
Slamming the BJP for its alleged obsession with controlling institutions, she said, "They may win in deals, they may win through manipulation; but they will never win the people's mandate. They have big babus, small babus, and middle babus. I respect the chair, but there's a limit to how much you can bow down."
They have crossed all limits of oppression, the CM alleged.
Taking a dig at the ruling party's alleged hypocrisy over citizenship documents, Banerjee remarked, "You made people pay to get Aadhaar cards, and now you say Aadhaar isn't proof of citizenship! What nonsense is this?"
The CM also alleged that BJP workers, posing as bank employees, were collecting personal data of people in parts of Diamond Harbour, the Lok Sabha constituency of Abhishek Banerjee, and warned citizens against sharing information with unauthorised officials.
"Give information only to official BLOs. Suppose you are not at home, will your name then be removed? That's why we have set up a TMC helpdesk to assist people," she said.
In an emotional pitch to the crowd, Banerjee asked, "After serving seven times as an MP, three terms as the chief minister, and four terms as a central minister, do I still need to prove I'm not a Bangladeshi?"
She accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to strike off "nearly two crore voters" from West Bengal's rolls.
The CM said, "People (of West Bengal) are being branded as Bangladeshis just because they work in other states. These illiterates know nothing about our history of independence. Once, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh had been one. After independence, people went wherever life took them."
Reiterating that the state would not bow down before powers in New Delhi, Banerjee said, "This is not just about Bengal. This is about the soul of India, the right to vote, the right to belong. We will fight this both in Bengal and, if needed, in Delhi."
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HC says Bhojshala complex is Goddess Saraswati temple, scraps ASI order on namaz on premises
Indore (PTI): In a big win for the Hindu side, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday declared that the disputed Bhojshala complex in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, and the Centre and ASI can decide on its administration and management.
The HC's Indore bench, which was hearing the case, also said the Muslim community, which called the 11th century monument Kamal Maula Mosque, may approach the state government for allotment of separate land in the district for construction of a mosque.
In its much-awaited verdict in the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex dispute, the court observed that there were indications of a Sanskrit teaching centre and a temple of Goddess Saraswati existing in Bhojshala.
The religious character of the disputed complex of Bhojshala-Kamal Maula Mosque indicates it is a temple of Goddess Saraswati, noted the HC.
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"If the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society applies for land allotment for building a mosque in Dhar district, the state government can consider it," maintained the division bench.
The HC scrapped the 2003 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order which allowed Muslims to offer Friday prayers on Bhojshala premises.
Nearly 1,200 police personnel were deployed in and around the complex ahead of the HC ruling.
Dhar Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena warned of strict action against anyone spreading objectionable content on social media, as the administration erected barricades at the site where Friday prayers coincided with the court verdict.
The long-running dispute pertains to the religious nature of the ASI-protected monument in Dhar district.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim side calls the monument Kamal Maula Mosque. A petitioner from the Jain community claims the disputed complex is a medieval Jain temple and gurukul.
After the controversy over the Bhojshala complex erupted, the ASI issued an order on April 7, 2003, permitting Hindus to worship at the complex every Tuesday and Muslims to offer namaz there every Friday. The Hindu side challenged the order in the HC, seeking exclusive rights to worship at the complex.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi of the HC's Indore bench began regular hearings on five petitions and one writ appeal related to the case on April 6 this year.
After hearing all the parties against the backdrop of differing religious beliefs, historical claims, complex legal provisions, and thousands of documents related to the disputed monument, the bench had reserved its decision on May 12.
During the hearing, petitioners from the Hindu, Muslim, and Jain communities presented detailed arguments and sought exclusive worship rights for their communities at the monument.
The ASI, after conducting a scientific survey of the monument, indicated in its over 2,000-page report that a massive structure dating back to the reign of the Parmar kings of Dhar predated the mosque, and that the current disputed structure was built using repurposed temple components.
The Hindu side claimed that coins, sculptures, and inscriptions found by the ASI during its scientific survey prove the complex was originally a temple.
However, the Muslim side argued in court that the ASI's survey report was "biased" and prepared to support the claims of the Hindu petitioners.
Refuting this, the ASI told the court the scientific survey process was carried out with the help of experts, including three from the Muslim community.
The HC had ordered the ASI to conduct a scientific survey of the Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex on March 11, 2024. The ASI began the survey on March 22 that year and, after a detailed 98-day survey, submitted its report to the High Court on July 15.
