‘Matuas, Rajbanshis & minorities being targeted under SIR drive’

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleged that people belonging to Matuas, Rajbanshis and minority communities have been deliberately targeted in the name of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Alleging discrimination, Banerjee from an election rally in Nadia’s Chakdaha, Nadia claimed that nearly 91 lakh names had been deleted, raising concerns over fairness ahead of the Assembly elections. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to release the final revised voter list, she added.

“Why this discrimination? You are excluding Matuas, Rajbanshis and minorities. Do you think that people do not understand this?” Banerjee said in reference to the SIR carried out by the poll body. She also claimed that in districts with significant minority populations, such as Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpur, names were “picked and removed like lice” from the electoral rolls.

From another poll rally in Bongaon, she asserted that her party will win more seats than before, and form government for the fourth consecutive term. “Trinamool Congress will ultimately win and get more seats than before,” she said. Her party had won 215 seats in the 2021 elections.

Nearly half of the disputed entries were put back on the rolls following legal action, Banerjee added. She further alleged that “names were being removed from official records by targeting specific communities,” suggesting that the deletions were not random but aimed at particular groups.

She said that around 32 lakh names out of nearly 60 lakh cases under ‘adjudication’ had been restored, following her intervention in the Supreme Court. She also asserted that her party will provide legal support on how to apply before the tribunal. “Those whose names are still missing should apply before the tribunal. The TMC will stand by you and provide legal support,” she said.

Terming the upcoming polls as a fight to protect identity and democratic rights, Banerjee urged voters to respond strongly. She also questioned the Centre’s stance on infiltration, saying border security is its responsibility.

According to the latest data by the Election Commission of India (ECI), nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal after the SIR process.

Questioning the Centre’s stand on infiltration, Banerjee said the Union government has the responsibility of protecting the country’s borders, but it was blaming the West Bengal government for infiltration.

She called the upcoming Assembly polls a battle to protect people’s identity and democratic rights. She also urged voters to respond through the ballot. “This election is a fight to save your democracy, language and respect so that no one can ever call you a foreigner,” Banerjee told the huge gathering.

Banerjee also claimed that the names of 300 members of the Missionaries of Charity, which was formed by Mother Teresa, have been deleted in the electoral rolls revision exercise, and also those of monks of the Ramakrishna Mission and Bharat Sevasram Sangha.

Reaffirming that she will not allow any detention camps in Bengal, Banerjee said: “We will have to see how many names have been restored in the supplementary list... I will not allow detention camps to be set up (in Bengal). Constitutional rights must be given, and I will continue to fight for restoration of these.”

Slamming the BJP’s “anti-minority” mindset, Banerjee said: “He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) had lunch with leaders of Gulf countries and hugged them, with religion not becoming a barrier. When you go to Gulf countries, you hug the Muslim rulers. Their (BJP) religion is to divide votes, that is not Hinduism.”

Meanwhile, Banerjee backed her candidate from Habra, Jyotipriya Mallick, saying that the latter was framed.

“Propaganda was spread about Balu (Jyotipriya). Nobody in my government did as much work as Balu did. He was arrested out of jealousy. He had spotted 1.50 lakh fake ration cards of CPI(M) party. He was therefore framed,” Banerjee stated. She also urged the people of Habra to vote for him. He was arrested in 2023 in connection with an alleged ration scam.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to file her nomination on Wednesday, which is being choreographed as BJP’s ideological counterpoint — a public assertion of Bhowanipore Constituency being a “mini India”, and Bengal’s pluralist identity.