Mamata, Abhishek Lead Kolkata Rally Against SIR Plans
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has threatened to overthrow the BJP rule at the Center if the name of a single genuine voter is mentioned in the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) launched in the poll-bound state from Tuesday.
The Trinamul Congress chief’s threat came at the end of his massive protest rally along with his MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee towards Jorasanko from Red Road via CR Boulevard in the city, a few hours after the distribution of counting forms to voters in the first phase of SIR began.
This development coincided with two more deaths by suicide due to SIR fear in the state. A worker named Jahir Mal (28) at Uluberia in Howrah was found hanging dead in his house in the morning. His wife, Rejina Bibi, said that he had been worried about SIR for the last few days and was afraid of being deported to Bangladesh.
In another suicide incident, it was reported that a farmer named Mohul Sheikh (45) from Murshidabad’s Kandi city ended his life by consuming pesticide while plowing his field in the afternoon. He was a resident of ward 12 of Kandi Municipality, but his name was not in the 2002 SIR voter list.
In the evening, after finishing her rally, Ms. Banerjee said: “We will topple the government in Delhi even if the name of a single original voter is not included in the SIR. Last time the SIR was implemented, it took two years to complete. So why are you in such a hurry this time? To please Modi Babu, Amit Babu?”
He later added: “There are four states to hold elections. The polls will be announced in February. So there are only three months left. Is it possible to complete the door-to-door form filling process covering a population of ten million? Shouldn’t people lose their patience? It could have been done after the election.”
The CM stated: “Why is SIR not happening in Assam? If it were, they (BJP) would have lost as the people of Assam did not vote for them. The BJP is winning there with wrong votes. Three of the four poll-bound states are ruled by the opposition and are facing SIR. The same does not happen where there is a double-engine government.”
On the other hand, Mr. Banerjee announced that she will bring her party’s excitement to the national capital. “We lost seven citizens whose names were earlier in the voter list but were later deleted. Tomorrow, TMC will organize a SIR agitation in New Delhi showing the strength of Bengal,” he said.
