Mamata Banerjee Leads Massive Protest Against Voter List Revision in Bengal, Challenges BJP's Citizenship Claims

Kolkata:

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee organized a significant protest march in Kolkata against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists implemented today by the Election Commission across multiple states. The demonstration covered 3.8 kilometers, beginning at the Red Road in central Kolkata and concluding at Jorashanko Thakur Bari, the ancestral residence of Rabindranath Tagore.

During the rally, Banerjee launched a fierce critique of the BJP, stating, "Many unorganized sector workers are concerned their names might be removed from voter lists."

Addressing the BJP's allegations about illegal migrants receiving false identities in Bengal, she emphasized, "Speaking in Bengali does not make someone Bangladeshi, just as speaking Hindi or Punjabi doesn't make one Pakistani."

She further criticized the BJP by saying, "Anyone speaking Bengali is labeled as Bangladeshi. These people never participated in the freedom struggle... where was the BJP during that time? That's why they fail to understand that India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were originally one territory before Independence."

Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has consistently opposed the SIR implementation, similar to its stance against the National Register of Citizens. The party, alongside other opposition groups, argues that SIR serves as a mechanism to disenfranchise their supporters and secure electoral advantages for the BJP.

With upcoming Bengal assembly elections that the BJP has long targeted, Trinamool today described the SIR as "silent, invisible rigging."

Characterizing the revision process as "hurried and politically motivated," Mamata Banerjee pointed out it's being conducted exclusively in opposition-governed states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, "but not in BJP-ruled Assam."

Kerala and Tamil Nadu are also scheduled for assembly elections next year.

Calling it "clear discrimination designed to benefit the ruling party at the Centre," the Chief Minister demanded that the Election Commission "must explain why there is no SIR in BJP-governed Assam, Tripura, and other northeastern states."

The protest march follows the BJP's letter to the Election Commission yesterday, claiming the Mamata Banerjee administration has issued "backdated" and "forged" documents extensively, urging the electoral body to exercise significant caution when determining citizenship status.

Among the documents for which the BJP recommended "caution" were Birth Certificates, Permanent Residence Certificates, Forest Rights Certificates, Caste Certificates, Family Registers, and Land and House Allotment Certificates. The party also suggested that the commission request additional documentation from state residents.