Only Mamata truly countering BJP in India, saffron camp aiming 'respectable defeat' in WB: Akhilesh
Kolkata (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hailed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the only opposition leader in the entire India who is "effectively countering the BJP", and said that the saffron camp is now aiming for a "respectable defeat" in the upcoming state elections.
Yadav, accompanied by his party's senior leader Kiranmoy Nanda, met Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna amid a charged political atmosphere in the poll-bound state over the controversial SIR exercise, and lauded the TMC supremo for her "courage in countering the BJP's onslaughts".
"If in the entire country, someone is effectively countering the BJP, it is West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. And the BJP can only be truly opposed by the way she is doing it," the former Uttar Pradesh CM told reporters after the meeting, which lasted for about 40 minutes, with Banerjee standing next to him.
Yadav's statement assumes significance in the wake of several regional parties, that are partners in the anti-BJP nation-wide INDIA alliance, having in the past alleged "big-brotherly attitude" against the platform's biggest constituent, the Congress.
Yadav's comment on Tuesday, political observers said, was not only an applause for Banerjee's political stance but also an indirect barb against the Congress which has failed to post notable poll victories against the saffron camp since the 2024 general elections.
The former UP CM alleged that the BJP was in cahoots with the EC in conducting the SIR exercise which aimed at destroying the secular fabric of India.
"The BJP's fight here is a fight for defeat, they only want to embrace defeat with a bit of respect," he said.
Asserting that Banerjee would continue to receive people's support in her fight against the BJP, Yadav extended his party's aid to the TMC's endeavour in Bengal.
"I believe that the secular forces, the brotherhood we share that forms the identity of this nation, will come out on top. The BJP is playing with secularism, and that too in cahoots with the EC which is a constitutional body. We are happy that Didi defeated the ED and she will emerge victorious against the BJP as well. She has our full support," he said.
Referring to the EC's roll revision exercise in Uttar Pradesh where nearly 2.89 crore voters were deleted from the draft rolls, the SP leader alleged that attempts are being to implement the NRC in the garb of SIR, and harass people.
"The SIR is devised to inflict maximum suffering on people ahead of the polls. It's a different matter whether SIR was truly implemented in Bihar. But the fact is SIR was created for West Bengal," Yadav claimed.
"It is the responsibility of the EC to ensure that votes are increased and encourage more and more voters to exercise their franchise. But for the first time, we observe that the Commission and the BJP are trying to implement NRC in the garb of SIR and are harassing the common people with the express goal of reducing votes," he added.
Akhilesh, along with his wife and party's Lok Sabha MP Dimple Yadav, arrived in Kolkata on Monday to attend a family function, and referred to Banerjee recently storming the Enforcement Directorate's raid venues of I-PAC office and its director Pratik Jain's residence on January 8 to hit out at the BJP.
"Didi has defeated the ED. We are certain that she will now defeat the BJP again," he said.
"The BJP has not yet been able to forget the pains of losing the pen drive," Yadav added at Nabanna, in a purported reference to the electronic devices the chief minister had come out with from the agency's search operation premises during the raids alleging that the agency was trying to access sensitive TMC information connected to the upcoming polls.
He maintained that Banerjee saved the state from a "digital dacoity the agency was trying to commit".
"Mamata Banerjee speaks of love and brotherhood while BJP speaks of divisiveness. The BJP, through SIR, is not trying to enhance its votes; it is trying to slash the votes of its opponents. We expected a Constitutional body like the EC to remain neutral while conducting this exercise. But our experiences in states like Bengal, Bihar and UP are telling us that this is just a means to reduce the number of voters," Yadav said.
What the BJP forgets is that Bengal is not just a political unit; it is more a cultural unit from where messages of universal humanism and unity were spread, he said, adding that hate mongers will not succeed here.
Earlier in the day, the SP chief, accompanied by his wife and SP's Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan, offered prayers at the Kalighat Temple.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
