Mamata to scale up anti-SIR campaign with rallies in Malda, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will intensify her offensive against the EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls with rallies in Malda and Murshidabad this week, followed by a major mobilisation in Cooch Behar next week, TMC sources said.
This marks Banerjee's second phase of anti-SIR mobilisation after her Bongaon rally last week in the refugee-dominated Matua belt, where she alleged the revision drive was being misused to intimidate borderland families.
The TMC is positioning her district-wise campaign as a counter to the BJP's "infiltrator-cleansing" narrative.
The TMC leaders said the decision to hold consecutive rallies in Malda, Murshidabad on December 3, 4 and Cooch Behar on December 9, in three politically sensitive border districts with sizeable minority, migrant and displaced populations, signals a deliberate attempt to reclaim the narrative ahead of 2026, especially as the SIR exercise fuels unease over scrutiny of documents, identity and citizenship.
The Malda rally is scheduled at Gajole and Murshidabad's at Beharampore stadium.
The Cooch Behar rally, scheduled for December 9 at the historic Rash Mela Maidan, is being projected as Banerjee's biggest mobilisation in the north this winter.
District leaders expect a large turnout from Dinhata, Sitai, Sitalkuchi and Mekhliganj, where the SIR has triggered fear among poor rural households.
Announcing preparations, district TMC president Abhijit De Bhowmik said an emergency meeting with block presidents will be held on December 1, followed by a district-level preparatory session at Rabindra Bhavan on December 2, with ministers, MPs, MLAs, councillors and panchayat functionaries finalising mobilisation plans for the chief minister's visit.
Party insiders said Banerjee's rallies in Malda and Murshidabad this week will serve as narrative-setting platforms before the Cooch Behar show of strength.
Local units have already begun booth-level campaigns stressing that the SIR's "errors and excesses" are disproportionately affecting border residents, minorities and families with historically fluid cross-border linkages.
The BJP, however, has accused the TMC of shielding illegal migrants and opposing a legitimate clean-up of electoral rolls for political gain.
With both parties leveraging the SIR to consolidate narratives ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, Banerjee's Cooch Behar rally is expected to escalate Bengal's charged political confrontation over identity.
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VHP warns of statewide stir in Karnataka against move to ease cattle transport law
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The VHP on Saturday demanded the immediate withdrawal of a proposed amendment to the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, accusing the state government of weakening a law that has deterred illegal cattle transport.
The organisation's Go Raksha Wing, Karnataka South, has also announced district-level protests on December 8.
According to officials, the existing law mandates a bank guarantee for securing the release of vehicles seized for alleged illegal cattle transportation.
On December 4, the state Cabinet proposed an amendment enabling the release of such vehicles on an indemnity bond instead.
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Addressing reporters in Udupi, VHP leader and Prantha Goraksha Pramukh Sunil K R, said the government's move amounted to "sympathy for cattle lifters" and claimed that it was part of broader actions "targeting Hindus".
He argued that the law in its current form is stringent and has played a crucial role in reducing incidents of illegal cattle transport and theft.
Under the Act, vehicles involved in offences can be surrendered and, upon conviction, permanently seized by authorities. "Diluting these provisions will embolden offenders," Sunil said.
The VHP leader warned that easing the process of vehicle release would not only encourage violators but also result in rising cruelty against cattle.
Sunil further claimed that the strict enforcement of the 2020 law had brought down cases of cattle-related offences significantly. Rolling back these provisions, he said, could reverse those gains and would lead to an increase in illegal transport.
He reiterated that the government must reconsider its decision and preserve the integrity of the existing law.
