Bongaon, Nov 25 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday flayed the EC over the SIR of electoral rolls, claiming that voters in the state’s Matua-majority areas would be “immediately delisted” if declared foreigners under the CAA, and urged people not to resort to extreme steps under fear of the exercise.
Addressing a rally here before a three-km march to Thakurnagar, Banerjee also vowed to “shake” the BJP’s foundation across the country if she was challenged in Bengal.
The chief minister said “human lives are too precious”, and appealed to people “not to die by suicide under the fear of SIR”.
She claimed that 35-36 deaths had already been linked to panic surrounding the voter revision exercise, including several suicides.
Banerjee’s sharpest attack came on the question of citizenship, as she accused BJP-linked organisations in the Matua belt of issuing “misleading certificates” that would de facto brand applicants as Bangladeshis.
“They are cheating you. Certificates dated November-December 2025 say you lived in Bangladesh till 2002. This is a huge fraud,” she asserted, contrasting the documents with those issued by the Ramakrishna Mission, which “never mention nationality”.
She reiterated that anyone applying under the Citizenship Amendment Act by stating Bangladeshi origin would “be immediately delisted as a voter”.
“If those who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are not genuine, the BJP-led central government has no right to govern,” the CM said.
Banerjee alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being rushed “coercively within two months” ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, and that the draft list would reveal “the disastrous situation created by the EC and BJP”.
The revision exercise, last conducted in 2002, took around three years, she maintained.
The CM also alleged that the poll body had turned into “a BJP Commission”, which was acting upon “instructions from Delhi”, and that it would use “AI as a tool for manipulation”.
The TMC supremo claimed that 10 booth-level officers (BLOs) engaged in the SIR process were hospitalised and three others lost their lives, referring to a case in Nadia where a man allegedly blamed the EC before dying.
Banerjee accused the poll panel officials of issuing threats to the BLOs.
“The Commission has engaged a ‘chota babu’ here who threatens BLOs with jail and job loss. He will retire in five months,” she said, without elaborating.
The day’s political flashpoint, however, came before the rally, with Banerjee alleging that her hired helicopter – booked for 12.30 pm landing – was abruptly grounded.
The CM said she was informed at 10 am that the chopper “won’t fly”, and called it “politically motivated”.
She eventually travelled by road and reached the venue around 2 pm.
“Before the elections even begin, they have started creating hurdles. But, it helped me. On the way, I met so many people,” she said.
“Don’t try to play with me. Use all the agencies you want, you (the BJP) won’t be able to fight me. If you try to hit me in Bengal, I will shake your foundation across the country. A wounded tiger is more dangerous than a living one,” Banerjee asserted.
On the BJP’s charge of infiltration in Bengal, she countered, “Border security is the Centre’s responsibility. If infiltrators are entering, how is the state responsible unless the Centre is complicit?” The chief minister also questioned the rationale behind conducting SIR in BJP-ruled states if the goal was to remove “illegal Bangladeshis”.
“Does that mean you accept there are ‘ghuspaithiyas’ in the double engine-ruled states?” Banerjee said.
She asserted that the Bihar poll outcome was the result of the SIR, as the Opposition couldn’t gauge the “BJP’s game there”.
“In Bengal, this will not work… BJP will also lose Gujarat in the upcoming elections. Mark my words – 2029 will be very dangerous for them,” she claimed.
She also accused the Centre of withholding funds under schemes such as 100-days’ work, Sarva Shiksha Mission, drinking water projects and rural roads, and alleged that TMC leaders face hundreds of income tax notices before elections, while BJP leaders are “sent abroad”.
Bengali-speaking citizens were being “unfairly labelled Bangladeshis”, the chief minister claimed.
“Our language is the same across the border. In Birbhum, where I am from, the dialect itself is different. How will people born into Bengali-speaking families change their dialect?”Banerjee asked.
Reaching out to the Matua community, the CM said she was “not here to ask for votes” but to assure them that “no genuine voter will be removed”.
The TMC maintains that Matua voters remain largely aligned with the party due to welfare initiatives over the past decade, even as the BJP continues to bank on the CAA as a mobilisation tool.
Union minister and Bongaon BJP MP Shantanu Thakur has often accused the TMC of blocking citizenship processes, a charge the ruling party denies.
Ending her speech with a reassurance, Banerjee said, “I am your ‘pehredar’, not a zamindar. Don’t be afraid and take any extreme step. We will fight this together.” PTI PNT RBT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.