Mamata says ‘SIR harassment under guise of verification killed 110 people’
Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday criticised the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State, voicing concern over what she described as harassment of citizens in the name of document verification.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair at Central Park in Salt Lake, Banerjee reaffirmed her support for the common people. “Just because my own house is not on fire while my neighbour’s is, I cannot keep quiet. If my neighbourhood is not at peace, I cannot be at peace either,” she said.
The Chief Minister claimed that around 110 people had already died due to distress and harassment linked to the process, alleging that citizens were being forced to stand in queues for five to six hours daily.
Questioning the rationale behind the exercise, Banerjee said there was never any “logical discrepancy” in the SIR and alleged that such verification was being carried out only in Bengal and nowhere else.
Without naming any authority, she raised concerns over what she termed the irrational nature of the process, asking how elderly citizens—born before Independence or at a time when birth certificates were uncommon—could now be expected to produce proof of their parents’ births. “Many people do not even know their parents’ exact dates of birth. Births used to take place at home, not in hospitals,” she said.
Banerjee also alleged that eminent personalities were not being spared. “If Amartya Sen is asked about the age difference between his parents, what could be more shameful than that? Poet Joy Goswami has also been summoned. Doctors, engineers—everyone is being called,” she said.
Addressing the audience at an international cultural platform, Banerjee said celebration could not mean silence in the face of suffering and urged people to protest what she described as injustice.
She also announced that she had penned a book of poems titled SIR 2026, containing 26 poems written in response to the current situation. “Since it is the year ’26 and with the kind of harassment going on, I wrote 26 poems while travelling by helicopter over two to three days,” she said.
A total of nine new books by Banerjee were released at the programme. “So far, 151 of my books have been published. With these nine, the number will reach 162,” she added.
The other books released include Amar Railbela, reflecting on her tenure as Railway Minister; Banglar Prokriti Ma – Kichu Choray Bola and its English version Mother Nature of Bengal: Rhymes and Reflections; Amader Para Amader Samadhan; Kothar Bhandar – Prothom Porbo; Punyobhumi Bangla; and In Service of the People.
During the event, Publishers and Booksellers Guild general secretary Tridib Chatterjee proposed the creation of a permanent “Boi-Tirtha” (Book Pilgrimage Centre).
Responding from the stage, Banerjee gave in-principle approval and announced an allocation of Rs 10 crore for the project, directing that it be completed before the golden jubilee edition of the fair next year.
She instructed the Guild to submit a formal proposal for audit purposes but stressed that there should be no delay. “By the time we reach the 50th year, I want to see that you have created a Boi-Tirtha,” she said.
