Kolkata, Jul 28 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Monday alleged that the West Bengal government was helping illegal immigrants, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis, obtain voter status by issuing mass domicile certificates, citing an unusual surge in new voter registrations across several sensitive border districts.
In a post on X, Adhikari said, “A disturbing trend has emerged in West Bengal’s border districts. Over 70,000 Form-6 applications have been submitted on average in the last week, a sharp rise from the usual 20,000-25,000, especially in Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, North Dinajpur, Murshidabad, Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganas districts.” “This surge, coupled with reports of domicile certificates being issued by the West Bengal administration, raises serious concerns about the state government’s unethical and illegal efforts to facilitate the legitimising of the infiltrating Rohingya Muslims and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, with the aim to manipulate our voter lists,” he posted.
Adhikari also attached a letter dated July 26, addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding that any domicile certificate issued on or after July 25 not be considered valid for the ongoing revision of electoral rolls, if such a process is undertaken in West Bengal.
“The integrity of our Democracy must be protected and can’t be allowed to get diluted for vested interests of Vote Bank Politics. The District Election Officers must remember that they are entrusted with the responsibility of conducting free and fair elections, and their allegiance is with the country and protecting the interests of the country.@ECISVEEP @CEO_WestBengal @SpokespersonECI”, he said.
Adhikari alleged that the chief minister’s office has instructed district magistrates and sub-divisional officers in several sensitive districts, including Murshidabad, Malda, Dinajpur, Nadia, Coochbehar, and the two 24 Parganas, to issue a large number of domicile certificates in a concerted manner.
The Election Commission has already begun training booth-level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal, ahead of an anticipated Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls, a process that is already underway in neighbouring Bihar.
While the Election Commission has not formally announced any SIR exercise in West Bengal yet, TMC is apprehensive that the state is likely to be included soon.
Adhikari, who has frequently raised the issue of illegal immigration in the state, had earlier announced that the BJP will launch a state-wide agitation from August 17, demanding a “Rohingya-free Bengal”.
The move is seen as a direct counter to the ruling TMC’s ‘Bhasha Andolan’, a campaign aimed at protesting the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states. PTI PNT MNB
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