NewKerala.com

Bengal's SIR Battle: How Voter List Fears Spark Political Showdown

The Special Intensive Revision exercise has sparked major political tensions in West Bengal. Both Trinamool Congress and BJP are holding competing rallies on the first day of the revision. Mamata Banerjee leads her party's demonstration against what they call fear-mongering around voter list deletions. Meanwhile, BJP counters with their own rally accusing Trinamool of spreading misinformation about NRC links.

Key Points: Mamata Banerjee and BJP Hold Rallies Over Bengal SIR Exercise

  • Mamata Banerjee leads Trinamool rally from Red Road to Jorasanko Tagore residence
  • BJP counters with Suvendu Adhikari rally at Panihati in North 24 Parganas
  • Trinamool demands no genuine voter deletions amid suicide fear claims
  • BJP accuses Trinamool of politicizing SIR with NRC misconceptions
2 min read

Bengal SIR: Trinamool, BJP hold rallies on day one of 1st stage of revision exercise

West Bengal sees rival rallies as Trinamool and BJP clash over Special Intensive Revision exercise, with both parties making competing claims about voter list fears and NRC links.

"BJP should stop creating an atmosphere of fear in the state in the name of SIR - Trinamool Congress demands"

Kolkata, Nov 4

As the Special Intensive Revision exercise in West Bengal by the Election Commission of India (ECI) begins from Tuesday, the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP will hold rallies in the state with the central theme of both being SIR.

The Trinamool Congress rally in Kolkata to oppose the SIR will be led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the party's General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The rally will start from 2.30 p.m. from the base of the statue of B.R. Ambedkar at Red Road in central Kolkata and will end in front of the ancestral residence of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at Jorasanko in North Kolkata.

The two main demands of the Trinamool Congress rally will be -- the name of a single genuine voter should not be deleted from the voters’ list after the SIR and BJP should stop creating an atmosphere of fear in the state in the name of SIR, the panic which has allegedly prompted some suicides and suicide attempts in the state.

On the other hand, the BJP’s rally led by Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, will be at Panihati in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

Incidentally, 57-year-old Pradeep Kar, a resident of Panihati, committed suicide last week, reportedly out of fear of the NRC. While Trinamool Congress had already conducted a rally at Panihati on this issue last week, the BJP had announced a counter-rally at the same place on Tuesday.

The BJP’s rally at Panihati on Tuesday is against the alleged attempts by the Trinamool Congress to spread misconceptions about SIR by unnecessarily linking it with the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

At the rally, Suvendu Adhikari is also expected to highlight how Trinamool Congress is politicising the SIR issue by linking any case of suicide or suicide attempt with SIR or NRC.

Since the beginning, Trinamool Congress has been opposing the SIR and claiming that the exercise was a ploy of the BJP and the Union government to slap the NRC in West Bengal.

On the other hand, the BJP has been claiming that the reason why the Trinamool Congress was opposing the SIR so vehemently was their fear that the names of their dedicated voter bank of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators would be deleted from the voters’ list.

- IANS

Share this article:

Reader Comments

A
Arjun K
Why is Mamata Banerjee so scared of voter list revision? Genuine citizens have nothing to fear. This political drama is unnecessary and creating panic among common people.
R
Rohit P
Both parties are playing politics with people's lives. The tragic suicide in Panihati shows how much fear has been created. Can't we have a peaceful electoral process without this drama? 😔
S
Sarah B
As someone who recently moved to Kolkata, I find this political polarization concerning. The focus should be on ensuring every legitimate voter gets to exercise their right, not on political rallies.
V
Vikram M
TMC is right to protect genuine voters from being deleted. We've seen what happened in Assam with NRC - many Indian citizens suffered. Bengal should learn from that experience.
M
Michael C
The timing of these rallies seems calculated for maximum political impact. While I understand the need for voter list verification, the process should be transparent and non-partisan. Both sides need to tone down the rhetoric.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Minimum 50 characters 0/50