West Bengal BJP President and MP Samik Bhattacharya on Tuesday warned that if the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) isn’t conducted, there will be no elections in the state, accusing Mamata Banerjee of “doing a drama”.
According to reports, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is planning to move the Supreme Court against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, alleging it’s being conducted in an “inhumane” manner and has led to deaths and harassment of citizens.
Speaking to ANI, Bhattacharya said the CM is well aware of the consequences of moving to the apex court and asserted that SIR is inevitable. “…Mamata Banerjee knows what will happen if she approaches the Supreme Court…She is doing a drama, and the BJP has cleared that there will be no elections in the state if the SIR is not conducted,” he stated.
The SIR has become a contentious issue, with the TMC claiming it’s a BJP-led attempt to disenfranchise voters, while the BJP alleges large-scale voter roll inflation and “ghost voters”. The Election Commission has defended the process, stating it’s aimed at ensuring clean and accurate electoral rolls.
Mamata Banerjee attacks ECI
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging large-scale harassment of voters and warning that her government would take legal steps, including approaching the Supreme Court, to protect people’s rights.
Addressing a public meeting at Gangasagar in South 24 Parganas district, Banerjee claimed that around 54 lakh names had been deleted from the voter lists in the district alone. She alleged that artificial intelligence was being misused to remove names and accused the Election Commission of functioning like a “WhatsApp Commission”.
In a direct personal jibe, the Chief Minister referred to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as “Vanish Kumar”, warning that if people’s rights were made to “vanish”, those responsible would face consequences. She asserted that there would be “no detention camps in West Bengal” and said she would challenge any such move legally.
Mamta Banerjee says Bengalis attacked in BJP-ruled states
Banerjee also raised concerns over the alleged targeting of Bengalis in BJP-ruled states, claiming that “people had been tortured or lynched for speaking Bengali”. Asserting her cultural identity, she said she would continue to speak Bengali and warned against attempts to intimidate Bengal, calling the state “the land of the Royal Bengal Tiger”.
The Chief Minister said her government was not opposed to the SIR in principle but objected to the measures driving its “forceful” implementation, especially in an election year. She accused authorities of creating unnecessary problems ahead of the polls.
She further said that courts would reopen soon and her government would initiate legal action to safeguard the interests of ordinary people, adding that if necessary, she would personally approach the Supreme Court “not as a lawyer, but as a common person.”
(With inputs from ANI)
