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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1,850 missing mobile phones recovered as Delhi Police focusses on victim-centric policing
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has recovered 1,850 stolen and lost mobile phones worth around Rs 4 crore in past 40 days under "Mission Reconnect", an initiative aimed at returning phones to their rightful owners in outernorth Delhi, an official said on Saturday.
The recovered phones were traced from different parts of the country, including remote areas, through technical surveillance and sustained field operations, police said, adding that the devices were handed over to their owners during a programme at the Sports Ground, New Police Lines, Kingsway Camp.
The initiative focused on a victim-centric approach and aimed at strengthening public trust through proactive policing and coordinated efforts across states, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) Hareshwar Swami said.
As part of the programme, teams performed 'nukkad nataks' and screened awareness videos on cybercrime, drug abuse prevention, and senior citizen safety, sensitising the public about digital frauds and safety measures, officials said.
The initiative combines technology, investigation and community participation to ensure recovery of lost property and reconnect citizens with their valuables, they added.
