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.
ALSO READ: SIR of electoral rolls begins in 12 states, UTs; TMC calls exercise a 'con job'
"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.
ALSO READ: ECI team to visit Bengal to review SIR procedures: Official
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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Karnataka legislative session to focus on leadership row, farmers’ issues, flood relief
Belagavi (PTI): The 10-day winter session of the Karnataka Legislature, starting December 8 here, is expected to focus on the Congress leadership tussle, farmers’ grievances, and flood relief.
The unified opposition of the BJP and JD(S) has drawn up a strategy to corner the ruling Congress on multiple issues.
BJP leaders have announced plans to move a no-confidence motion following the leadership row between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah has asserted that he will complete the full five-year term, while Shivakumar has claimed he was promised the chief ministership midway through the Congress government’s tenure.
The power tussle intensified after the government completed two-and-a-half years on November 20.
Following a war of words on social media, the two leaders later presented a united front through ‘breakfast diplomacy’. However, the fight is far from over, as the party's high command held a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the issue in detail.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in Delhi on Saturday that the party had discussed Karnataka and that further meetings are expected. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said on Thursday that the government has not received any notice of a no-confidence motion from the opposition.
Farmers’ protests have given the opposition additional ammunition to target the government.
About a month ago, sugarcane growers staged an unprecedented strike, blocking roads to demand Rs 3,500 per tonne against the state government’s offer of Rs 3,200 per tonne.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought the Centre’s intervention, citing flaws in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), which remains frozen at Rs 31 per kilogram, leaving mills unable to pay farmers.
He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revise the sugar MSP, ensure mills can pay farmers, provide assured ethanol offtake for Karnataka distilleries, and issue a central notification for handling and transportation costs to enable transparent, farmer-friendly pricing.
To calm the agitating farmers, the state government offered an additional Rs 100 per tonne, shared equally by the state and mills, raising the net cane price to Rs 3,200-3,300 per tonne.
After the sugarcane strike, maize growers have also protested, demanding procurement at Rs 3,000 per quintal.
The current MSP is Rs 2,400 per quintal, and farmers are seeking a Rs 600 bonus. Ahead of the session, the state government announced increasing maize procurement from 20 quintals per farmer to 50 quintals at Rs 2,400 per quintal.
The session will also see the tabling of 21 bills, including measures to check hate speech and hatred crimes, a law against misinformation, the Daily Wage Employees Welfare (Amendment) Bill, and the Karnataka Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill.
Other key bills include the Karnataka Scheduled Castes (Sub-Categorisation in Reservation) Bill, the Karnataka Domestic Workers (Social Security and Welfare) (Amendment) Bill, and the Karnataka Apartment Ownership (Regulation) Bill.
Law and order issues may also come up during the session in light of recent incidents of robbery and dacoity across the state.
