Abhishek hits back at PM, says seeking answers on SIR deaths ‘not drama’
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the Opposition was turning Parliament into a stage for “drama”, arguing that seeking answers on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the deaths of 40 people allegedly linked to it, and other issues of governance cannot be dismissed as theatrics.
Banerjee’s remarks came hours after the Prime Minister, speaking to reporters outside Parliament ahead of the winter session, said the House was “not a place for drama but for delivery”, describing the opposition’s conduct as a “warm-up arena” for elections, and even offering to give them “tips to bring positivity in politics”.
Banerjee said that if raising people’s concerns was “drama”, Bengal would give the BJP a “befitting reply” in the 2026 Assembly polls. “About 40 people, including BLOs, died due to the unplanned SIR. Does the BJP think this is a drama? Victims’ family members have blamed the Election Commission of India. Where is accountability from the Centre?” Banerjee asked after inaugurating ‘Sebaashray’, a free medical services programme in Maheshtala.
He added that BLOs were neither trained nor equipped to handle the workload. “The ECI didn’t train BLOs. It didn’t fix the glitches. The voter roll isn’t updated,” he said
Banerjee said the Opposition was working within the legal framework to ask questions. “Just because they have won a few states does not mean they are not answerable to people. The same people will remove you from power,” he said. He clarified that the Trinamool Congress was not against the SIR itself, but against its “hasty” and “faulty” implementation.
He further alleged that the ECI was trying to shift the responsibility of paying BLOs’ remuneration onto the state government. Reiterating a long-standing charge, Banerjee said the Union government had withheld Rs 2 lakh crore due to Bengal.
“If the Centre clears even 50 per cent of the dues, the Trinamool Congress government will raise BLO remuneration to Rs 60,000 instead of the Rs 12,000 announced by the ECI,” he promised.
Challenging the poll panel, he urged the ECI to make public the meeting with Trinamool MPs. He claimed the Commission had failed to answer five questions raised by the party. “Take three months and answer the questions. Then I will take the ECI to court. We have all evidence,” Banerjee said.
He also asserted that after the SIR, Trinamool’s seat tally and vote share would increase in the 2026 Assembly elections, and challenged the Prime Minister to clear Bengal’s dues within seven days if that happened.
Asked if he would contest the 2026 Assembly polls from Nandigram, Banerjee said: “If my party asks me to contest from Nandigram, I will do that. If the party asks me to contest from Darjeeling, I will abide by it. Put it on record.”
