Don't behave like British: Mamata slams Centre over SIR, asserts commitment to secular politics
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday tore into the BJP-led Centre over the SIR of electoral rolls, accusing it of behaving like the British rulers by imposing directives on the state, and vowed that her government would neither allow detention camps nor practise communal politics.
She was addressing a programme at the state secretariat Nabanna, in which she listed her government's work over the last 14-and-a-half years.
Claiming that the SIR process had been triggered at the behest of the BJP to "save its vote bank", Banerjee alleged that the Centre was attempting to "disturb the states" under the guise of electoral reforms.
"I do not run detention camps in Bengal. We do not torture people. We don't disturb others, why is the Centre disturbing the states?" she asked.
Banerjee said the Union government must not act like the British rulers.
"I want to tell the Centre: do not behave like the British and forcefully impose anything on us. If you have something to say, tell the state directly. We are committed to the Constitution," she said, adding, "I do not practise communal politics. I practise secular politics. For me, all religions are the same."
The remarks come at a time when political temperatures in West Bengal have risen sharply over the SIR, with the BJP and TMC locked in a bitter war of words.
The SIR exercise, mandated by the Election Commission of India (ECI), aims at revising electoral rolls by verifying entries, identifying deceased or shifted voters, and ensuring updated records ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
However, the process has triggered protests by booth-level officers (BLOs) over workload, street demonstrations by political leaders, and mud slinging between the TMC and the BJP.
Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, reiterated her long-standing charge that the BJP was attempting to misuse the ECI machinery to influence voter lists.
The chief minister also sought to portray her government as the principal defender of constitutional values and federalism.
"Bengal does not discriminate. We treat all communities equally. This is not a government that divides people. This is a government that protects everyone," she said, adding that the state would "resist any attempt" to unsettle the social fabric.
Over the past week, the CEO's office in Kolkata has witnessed scenes of chaos, with protesting BLOs engaging in altercations with the police over what they call "inhuman workload".
The TMC has accused the BJP of trying to "manufacture tension" around the SIR to create a political narrative ahead of the polls.
Banerjee also took an indirect swipe at the Centre's citizenship-related legislations, stating that Bengal would "never support anything that pushes people into detention camps or renders them stateless".
The TMC has consistently opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the NRC, calling them instruments of discrimination.
"Let me make this clear: there will be no detention camp in Bengal. Nothing will be allowed that harms any community. We follow the path shown by the Constitution, not by divisive politics," she said.
Soon after the chief minister's remarks, the BJP hit back, accusing her of "peddling falsehoods" to divert attention from the TMC's alleged involvement in maintaining "ghost voters" in the electoral rolls.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said Banerjee was "scared" of a clean-up of the voter list.
"The SIR is an ECI-mandated, nationwide process. Why is she afraid? Because thousands of fake and illegal voters have been protected by the TMC for years," he alleged.
Adhikari said comparing the Centre to the British was "an insult to the democratic structure".
"It is Mamata Banerjee who runs Bengal like a private estate. The BJP does not need to learn democracy from her. She must explain why her party is resisting a transparent voter verification process," he said.
Calling Banerjee's "secular politics" claim "hypocrisy", the BJP leader alleged that the TMC had indulged in "appeasement politics" for over a decade.
"Her government selectively protects certain groups for electoral benefit. She should stop lecturing about constitutional values," he said.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
