TMC demands Amit Shah’s resignation after his SIR ‘purification’ comment

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday slammed Union Home minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged that the latter has failed on national security.

Shah, addressing the BSF’s Raising Day in Bhuj, had said parties resisting SIR wanted infiltrators’ names on the rolls and described the exercise as a “purification” of the voters’ list.

Accusing Shah of using the “infiltrator rhetoric” to target Bengal, the ruling party in Bengal also demanded that Shah should step down from his post. Senior Trinamool Congress leader Shashi Panja said Shah went to Gujarat and spoke about infiltrators, democracy and national security, but “the reality is a deep sense of insecurity across the country”.

She said terrorists killing tourists in Kashmir and a blast in Delhi showed that the security framework is cracking under the home minister’s watch. “If borders were truly secure, these incidents would not have happened. When there are lapses in Delhi, the BJP reads from its old script and blames Bengal. It is a tired, predictable strategy,” she added. Panja also accused the BJP of wanting to capture Bengal by intimidation. “BLOs are being threatened, overworked and pushed to breaking point. 31 lives have already been lost in this SIR-driven climate of fear,” she claimed.

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose took the attack further and directly sought Shah’s resignation. “Amit Shah is a singularly incapable Home minister. He failed to prevent the Pahalgam terror attack. He failed to stop the Delhi blast. If infiltrators are coming in, it is his failure,” Ghose added.