Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday launched a fierce attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the BJP-led Centre of using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal to “intimidate and disenfranchise” voters. He warned that the party would hold a massive protest in New Delhi over the deaths reportedly linked to fear of the exercise.
Addressing a large rally that began from the BR Ambedkar statue on Red Road and concluded at Jorasanko in central Kolkata, Banerjee claimed that seven people in the state had taken their own lives in the past week due to fear of the SIR. Calling the revision process a form of “silent, invisible rigging,” he alleged that the Prime Minister was “dictating terms to the poor and middle class at his whims,” comparing the SIR to earlier moves like demonetisation.
“Be it demonetisation or demanding endless citizenship documents, Modi has always imposed his diktats on the common man. We will not bow before the zamindars of Delhi,” the Diamond Harbour MP said, asserting that panic over SIR had already cost lives and that Bengal “would not remain silent if genuine voters were struck off the rolls.”
Banerjee reminded the crowd that when the SIR notification was issued in June, the TMC had warned of large-scale protests if any genuine voter’s name was removed. “If even one genuine voter’s name is deleted, Bengal’s might will be shown in the heart of Delhi,” he declared, urging people to prepare for a march to the national capital.
Accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of orchestrating a “campaign of fear,” Banerjee alleged that the SIR had led to “suicides of those labelled as Bangladeshis despite being listed as voters since 2002.” He claimed that a pregnant woman and six of her family members were deported even though their names appeared in official records, describing it as the “reality of the BJP’s politics of exclusion.”
Invoking the 1993 Youth Congress protest led by Mamata Banerjee, during which 13 activists were killed in police firing, Abhishek said that the spirit of July 21 continued to inspire West Bengal’s fight for rights. “If we have to sacrifice our lives again to protect the right to vote, we will. But we will not sell our spine. We bow only to the 10 crore people of Bengal,” he said.
In a sharp swipe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Banerjee said, “He recently claimed that those not born here have no right to vote. If he has the courage, let him say that LK Advani, born in Karachi, also cannot vote.” He also accused the BJP of misleading the Matua community—Hindu refugees from Bangladesh—with false promises of citizenship.
“They opened camps but gave citizenship to none. Don’t fall for their trap; you’ll meet the same fate as 12 lakh Hindus in Assam,” he warned, vowing that “as long as one Trinamool worker stands, not a single Matua or Rajbanshi will be deported.”
Banerjee further alleged that BJP leaders were “selling Matua Mahasangha cards for Rs 800” and “playing politics with people’s faith and identity.” He vowed that “those dividing Bengal for votes will face Bengal’s united strength,” and declared that the TMC would “reduce the BJP to zero” in the 2026 Assembly elections.
“This fight isn’t just to make Mamata Banerjee Chief Minister again. It’s to ensure those who insulted and deprived Bengal are buried politically,” he said, urging people to remember how “12 BJP MPs and 77 MLAs took votes from Bengal only to betray her.”
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Highlighting Bengal’s pluralism, he said, “This land belongs equally to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Matuas, Rajbanshis — everyone. Those asking us to produce papers should first show their fathers’ and grandfathers’ documents.”
Concluding his speech, Banerjee said, “In just two days, we organised this march of love and protest. Imagine what we can do in two months in Delhi.”
With PTI inputs