Mamata calls Shah ‘dangerous’, claims ‘pressure’ to drop voters from rolls

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called Union Home minister Amit Shah “dangerous”, accusing him of directly guiding attempts to remove “1.5 crore names” from Bengal’s voters’ list.

She warned she would sit on a dharna if even one eligible voter’s name was deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar, Nadia, Banerjee drew an analogy from the Mahabharata, saying: “The country’s Home minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes—it’s terrifying. In one eye you see ‘Duryodhan’ and in the other ‘Dushasan’. He asks to tag the people of these bordering areas as Rohingyas and Bangladeshi. Don’t go near the BSF in the bordering areas.”

Banerjee alleged that district magistrates were being pressured to remove 1.5 crore names during the revision exercise. “In Bihar you may have managed it, but you cannot do this in Bengal,” she said, claiming the draft rolls were being prepared “at the instruction of the BJP’s IT cell”.

She said she had heard that those who submitted their grandparents’ names during the SIR process would be called for hearings and risk deletion. “Each DM will be monitored by a BJP leader. Who do you think you are? How can you terrify the DMs, BDOs and BLOs? All the agencies are working on behalf of BJP without realising that BJP won’t be in power forever. You don’t have to wait till 2029—BJP will not be able to complete their term,” she said.

Alleging that SIR was being used as a political tool ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, she said: “There will be no NRC and no detention camps in Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections. We will not allow anyone to be driven out. And if someone is pushed out, we know how to bring them back.”

Banerjee reiterated she has not filled up her enumeration form. “I have been a Central Minister three times, elected MP seven times, and Chief Minister thrice with your blessings. Now I must prove I am a citizen? It is better to get a scar on the nose than suffer this insult.”

Calling the BJP “rioters”, she asked: “Do I need to prove my citizenship to people who shed blood and create violence?”

She alleged the BJP sought to take away women’s rights. “During elections, they want to use Central forces to terrify women. If names are illegally deleted, women should lead the fight,” she said. She added that the Trinamool Congress has opened ‘May I Help You’ camps to assist people with documents.

Banerjee also accused the BJP of trying to split votes with money ahead of the polls, in what was seen as a veiled reference to suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir of Bharatpur in Murshidabad.

On being asked about Banerjee not submitting her enumeration form with December 11 being the last date, an EC official said: “Some prominent individuals, such as political figures, sports personalities, members of the judiciary and notable figures from the arts, culture, and public service, fall under the public service category. In their case, it is not necessary to fill out the enumeration form in this phase. They can submit the required documents in the second phase.”