Mamata, Abhishek Lead Kolkata Rally Against SIR Plans
The development coincided two more deaths by suicide in SIR fear in the state. At Uluberia in Howrah, a labourer, Jahir Mal (28), was found hanging dead at home in the morning.
Kolkata:West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP and the Central Election Commission (CEC) of turning the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists, Phase-II of which commenced on Tuesday, into a political tool for a “silent, invisible rigging” ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
She threatened to topple the BJP at the Centre if a single genuine voter's name got dropped in the SIR, that got underway in the poll-bound state as well as in eight other states and three Union Territories (UTs) on Tuesday.
“After the successful completion of SIR in Bihar, Phase-II of the exercise will cover nearly 51 crore electors across nine states namely Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and three UTs namely Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry spanning 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies (ACs)”, the poll body stated.
The Trinamul Congress supremo’s threat came at the end of her massive protest rally with her MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee from Red Road to Jorasanko via CR Avenue in Kolkata, hours after the start of distribution of enumeration forms to voters in the first stage of the SIR. Over 18 lakh enumeration forms distributed in West Bengal.
The development coincided two more deaths by suicide in SIR fear in the state. At Uluberia in Howrah, a labourer, Jahir Mal (28), was found dead at home in the morning. He was worried about SIR for the last few days, fearing his deportation to Bangladesh, his wife Rejina Bibi said.
Another suicide was reported from Kandi in Murshidabad where a farmer, Mohul Sheikh (45), died by suicide in his agricultural field in the afternoon. He was a resident of ward no 12 of Kandi Municipality but did not have his name in the 2002 SIR voters' list.
In the evening, Mamata Banerjee said after finishing her rally, “Even if a single original voter's name is excluded in the SIR, we will pull down the government in Delhi. Last time, the SIR was carried out, it took two years to complete. But why such a hurry this time? To please Modi Babu, Amit Babu?”
She then added, “There are four states which are election bound. Polls will be declared in February. So, only three months are left. Is it possible to complete the door-to-door form fill-up covering a population of ten crores? Shouldn't people lose their patience? It could have been done after the election.”
The CM pointed out, “Why isn't the SIR happening in Assam? If it did, they (BJP) would have lost as the people of Assam don't vote for them. BJP wins there with false votes. Among the four poll-bound states, three are opposition-ruled and are facing the SIR. The same isn't happening where a double-engine government exists.”
On the other hand, Abhishek Banerjee declared that he would take his party's stir to the national capital. “We have lost seven citizens whose names earlier existed in the voters' list but were removed later. Tomorrow, TMC will hold an SIR-agitation in New Delhi displaying the might of Bengal,” he said.