Kolkata, Dec 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged that the people of West Bengal were suffering due to the TMC’s “misgovernance” in every sector, with its loot and intimidation having crossed all limits.
Modi’s statement set the tone for his scheduled visit to the state on Saturday, during which he would address a rally in Nadia district and unveil highway projects, amid the heightened political tension over the ongoing SIR exercise.
“In the afternoon tomorrow, 20th December, I will address a BJP rally in Ranaghat. The people of West Bengal are benefitting from numerous pro-people initiatives of the Central Government. At the same time, they are suffering due to the TMC’s misgovernance in every sector. The loot and intimidation of TMC have crossed all limits. That is why, BJP is the people’s hope,” he claimed.
The visit comes as the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has mounted sustained opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that large numbers of genuine voters, particularly refugee Hindus, risk disenfranchisement due to it.
BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who represents the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, claimed that fear was being spread deliberately among the Matuas about SIR.
“We are hopeful that the PM’s message would dispel those fears and canards,” he said.
Chief Minister Banerjee has already led anti-SIR rallies in Nadia and North 24 Parganas, the two adjoining districts that share a border with Bangladesh and have a significant Matua presence.
In the draft electoral rolls published after the enumeration phase, 58,20,899 names have been excluded, reducing the electorate to 7.08 crore. Around 1.36 crore entries have also been flagged for “logical discrepancies”, while 30 lakh voters have been categorised as unmapped — all of whom are likely to be called for a hearing.
For Matuas, a Dalit Hindu community that migrated from Bangladesh over decades due to religious persecution, this exercise has revived anxieties over identity and documentation.
The PM will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for two national highway projects worth around Rs 3,200 crore.
He will inaugurate the 66.7-km-long four-laning of the Barajaguli-Krishnanagar section of NH-34 in Nadia district and lay the foundation stone for the four-laning of the 17.6-km-long Barasat-Barajaguli section in North 24 Parganas district.
In a separate post on X, Modi said these projects will improve connectivity between Kolkata and Siliguri. PTI PNT SOM
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