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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday led a massive foot march in Kolkata to protest the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, which the Election Commission of India (ECI) rolled out across several states.
The 3.8-kilometre-long rally began from Red Road in the heart of the city and concluded at Jorashanko Thakur Bari, the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Mamata Slams BJP Over SIR Rollout
Addressing supporters during the march, Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the voter list revision process to target poor and marginalised citizens.
“Many unorganised sector workers are worried that their names might be removed,” she said, alleging that the SIR exercise could be used to disenfranchise opposition voters ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Responding to BJP’s claims that illegal migrants are being given fake identities in the state, Banerjee said,
“Speaking in Bengali does not mean Bangladeshi, just like speaking in Hindi or Punjabi does not mean Pakistani.”
She further added that those branding Bengali speakers as outsiders “have not fought the fight for India’s freedom” and reminded them that “India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were one land before Independence.”
Trinamool Calls SIR a ‘Silent, Invisible Rigging’
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly opposed the Special Intensive Revision, calling it a “hurried and politically motivated” move. Banerjee alleged that the ECI is conducting SIR only in Opposition-ruled states such as West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, but not in BJP-ruled states like Assam and Tripura.
“This is clear discrimination aimed at helping the ruling party at the Centre,” she said, demanding that the Election Commission explain why Assam, Tripura, and other northeastern states were excluded from the revision process.
Assembly elections are due next year in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while West Bengal is gearing up for a politically charged poll season.
BJP Flags Concerns Over ‘Forged Documents’
The rally came a day after the BJP wrote to the Election Commission, alleging that the West Bengal government had issued “backdated” and “forged” documents to manipulate voter records.
In its letter, the BJP urged the ECI to exercise strict caution while determining citizenship and voter eligibility. The party specifically listed documents such as Birth Certificates, Permanent Residence Certificates, Forest Rights Certificates, Caste Certificates, Family Registers, and Land or House Allotment Certificates as requiring verification.
The BJP also recommended that the Commission seek additional proof of identity from residents in certain regions of Bengal.
Political Tensions Rise Ahead of Bengal Polls
With Assembly elections approaching in West Bengal, the SIR exercise has sparked a fresh round of political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
While the ECI maintains that the voter list revision is a routine and necessary process to remove duplicate or outdated entries, opposition parties allege it is being misused to tilt the electoral balance in favour of the ruling party at the Centre.
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