TMC's Abhishek Banerjee slams SIR as BJP's plot to 'select voters', warns of massive protest
Kolkata (PTI): TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the BJP and the EC over the announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal, alleging the exercise was designed to "exclude" genuine voters and tilt the political balance ahead of the 2026 state polls.
Describing the initiative as "Silent Invisible Rigging (SIR)", he claimed that it was designed to manipulate the electorate.
Claiming that the order for SIR was dictated by the ruling party at the Centre, Banerjee said, "The BJP's allied organisation has announced SIR yesterday. This process is not about inclusion but exclusion."
Accusing the BJP of subverting democratic norms, he said, "Earlier, people used to elect the government. Now, this BJP government wants to select who will vote or not."
The Diamond Harbour MP questioned why the EC was raising concerns about discrepancies in the voter list just 18 months after the Lok Sabha elections.
"If there are discrepancies in electoral rolls, then the Lok Sabha should be dissolved and fresh elections should be held," he said.
Banerjee, considered number two in the TMC, also dismissed the allegation that infiltration from Bangladesh and the entry of Rohingyas into Bengal necessitated the revision.
"Five Northeast states share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Then why is SIR being announced only in West Bengal citing presence of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas?" he asked.
Challenging the poll panel's timeline for the verification exercise, the TMC leader said, "In 2002, SIR was held in Bengal over a span of two years. How will the EC complete this mammoth task within one or two months?"
He alleged that the EC was seeking to "take control of the state administration so that the government can't function" ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
The TMC leader also held Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar responsible for the death of a man in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday morning allegedly due to panic over citizenship issues.
"Pradeep Kar a resident of Panihati died due to anxiety because of ongoing NRC threat and for this Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar are responsible. In his suicide note he has blamed anxiety over NRC and SIR as the reason. An FIR should be filed against them," he said.
Issuing a warning, Banerjee said, "If the name of a single eligible voter is eliminated from the voter list, then one lakh people from Bengal will hold dharna outside the EC office in New Delhi."
Despite his objections, he asserted that the TMC would only emerge stronger. "Despite this SIR, we will increase our seat tally in this election too. This is my challenge to BJP," Banerjee said.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
