Political Crisis in West Bengal: Suicide Cases Linked to Electoral Roll Revision Spark Fierce TMC-BJP Confrontation

Trinamool Intensifies Attack On BJP Amid Row Over 'SIR Suicide' In Bengal

West Bengal's political landscape was in turmoil on Wednesday as the Trinamool Congress and BJP traded serious allegations regarding suicide incidents allegedly linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool's national general secretary, made controversial remarks after visiting the family of 57-year-old Pradeep Kar, who reportedly took his own life in Panihati, North 24 Parganas district. Kar allegedly left a suicide note expressing anxiety over 'NRC' concerns.

Banerjee urged supporters to confront local BJP representatives who request parental birth certificates, suggesting they should "tie them to trees and poles" until they produce their own ancestral documents. He emphasized, "We do not believe in violence. Don't assault them, just tie them up if they ask for your parents' birth certificates."

The political tension intensified after another incident in Cooch Behar district, where 63-year-old Khairul Sheikh allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison due to anxiety over his name being incorrectly recorded in the 2002 voter list. He is currently receiving treatment at Cooch Behar district hospital.

Banerjee directly accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of creating a "climate of panic" and called for criminal action against them. "Kar died due to anxiety over NRC and SIR. An FIR should be filed against Shah and Kumar," he stated.

The Election Commission recently announced the schedule for conducting SIR in 12 states and Union Territories, including poll-bound West Bengal, following the completion of the exercise in Bihar where over 45 lakh ineligible voters were removed from electoral rolls.

Opposition parties, particularly the Trinamool Congress, have alleged that SIR represents the Centre's attempt to implement the National Register for Citizens (NRC) "through backdoor" using the Election Commission. The NRC, designed to identify legal Indian citizens and deport illegal immigrants, has thus far only been implemented in Assam.

Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal's Leader of Opposition, refuted these claims, asserting that Kar's death was unrelated to NRC concerns. He maintained that Kar was enrolled in the 2002 electoral rolls and had participated in that year's assembly elections in Panihati constituency.

"Kar's death is in no way related to the issue of NRC and SIR. The unfortunate incident must be due to some other reasons," Adhikari stated, accusing the Trinamool Congress of constructing "false narratives in an insensitive manner."

Barrackpore Police Commissioner Muralidhar Sharma had earlier reported that Kar was found hanging at his residence and preliminary investigations indicated he suffered from depression following the SIR announcement on Monday.

The political confrontation is set to continue, with Banerjee announcing a Trinamool Congress protest rally in Panihati demanding justice for Kar, while Adhikari declared the BJP would hold a counter-rally in the same area on November 4.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned what she described as the BJP's "politics of fear and division," alleging that the party's campaign around NRC has created widespread panic among citizens.

Following the Cooch Behar incident, Trinamool Congress intensified its criticism with a pointed message on social platform X: "Two lives. Two tragedies. One cause. BJP's politics of hate. How many more lives will it take, Narendra Modi, for you to stop weaponising citizenship?"

Partha Pratim Roy, a Trinamool Congress leader, claimed widespread anxiety among former enclave residents in Cooch Behar who fear being declared "outsiders in their own land." He asserted, "The Commission must take responsibility. Two consecutive incidents show how the SIR is affecting lives."

The BJP has dismissed these allegations as baseless, describing the SIR process as a routine exercise to clean voter rolls. A local BJP representative stated, "The allegations are baseless. They are trying to give a political twist to every incident."