'SIR panic': Mamata announces Rs 2 lakh aid for 39 deceased; BJP accuses TMC of 'terrorising' BLOs
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of 39 people who, she claimed, died due to "SIR-induced panic", including several suicide cases reported since the SIR of electoral rolls began last month.
Thirteen others, including three booth-level officers (BLOs) who allegedly collapsed under "excessive workload", will also receive Rs 1 lakh each, she said.
The opposition BJP, however, rejected the state's claims of SIR-linked citizen deaths as "politically motivated", and alleged that the ruling party was terrorising the BLOs.
Banerjee, after presenting her government's 14-year development report card at the state secretariat Nabanna, said the rollout of the revision exercise on November 4 triggered "widespread fear" among ordinary citizens who believed their names could be struck off the voters' list arbitrarily.
"Till now, 39 ordinary citizens, including four BLOs, have died due to SIR panic, including suicides. Their families will be provided with financial assistance. We will not let people be traumatised or intimidated," the chief minister said.
According to officials, the first suicide allegedly linked to SIR anxiety occurred on the inaugural day of the exercise when Pradip Kar, a resident of Khardah in North 24 Parganas, ended his life.
Subsequent fatalities reported during the enumeration phase include nearly half due to suicide and the rest due to cardiac arrest or brain strokes.
Banerjee also referred to deaths of BLOs purportedly caused by "work pressure", stating that four such families had already been provided Rs 2 lakh each.
But as the Trinamool Congress government sought to attribute the deaths to "panic triggered by the Centre's weaponisation" of the revision process, the opposition BJP hit back, accusing the ruling party of running an intimidation regime that has left BLOs "terrorised".
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari dismissed the state's claims of SIR-linked citizen deaths as "politically motivated", insisting that the ruling party was trying to "cash in on human tragedies".
"Any death is sad. But the TMC is politicising it for political gain. If a person dies due to normal health issues, TMC links it to SIR. These deaths are unrelated to the voter list revision," he said.
He rejected allegations that the Election Commission's SIR exercise was overburdening field staff and countered that it was the TMC that had unleashed pressure on BLOs.
"If someone is putting inhuman pressure on BLOs, it is the TMC and its local cadres, not the EC. They have been openly threatening BLOs and forcing them to manipulate voter rolls so the SIR exercise becomes ineffective. If any BLOs have died, it is because of TMC's terror politics," Adhikari alleged.
He also cited an incident in Murshidabad, claiming that the husband of a BLO was "fighting for life after a deadly attack by Trinamool Congress workers".
"The BLOs are hijacked. They have been compromised. They are common people doing government jobs. How far can they tolerate?" he asked.
The SIR, a periodic exercise mandated by the Election Commission to update electoral rolls, has acquired steep political overtones in Bengal amid the approaching 2026 Assembly polls.
The TMC has repeatedly accused the BJP-led Centre of using the process to strike off minority and rural votes, a charge the Commission has denied.
Political observers recall that similar tensions had erupted during the NRC and CAA agitations in 2019-20, when fears of disenfranchisement triggered statewide protests.
The TMC has attempted to revive that narrative, presenting the SIR as another attempt at "voter deletion", while the BJP has framed the ruling party's campaign as an attempt to shield "bogus voters" and block the clean-up of rolls.
The latest war of words comes at a time when BLOs , the foot soldiers of India's electoral machinery, have become central figures in the political slugfest, often caught between competing pressures of administrative duty and local political networks.
Banerjee said her government would "stand by every affected family", while reiterating allegations that the Centre was "weaponising a routine revision process" to create fear.
"The state will support every affected citizen. We will not allow people to be traumatised or intimidated," she asserted.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
