SIR begins in West Bengal, TN; Mamata launches mega protest

The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls began on Tuesday in nine states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Goa -- and three UTs -- Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

The development triggered a massive footmarch by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who hit out at the Centre over its latest concern – infiltration. She said speaking Bengali “does not make anyone a Bangladeshi, just as speaking Hindi or Punjabi does not make one a Pakistani”.

Addressing a gathering after leading the footmarch in Kolkata, she said, “Many unorganised sector workers are worried that their names will be removed from the voter lists. Whoever speaks Bangla is branded as Bangladeshi. These people have not fought the freedom struggle… where was the BJP at that time? It doesn’t know that India, Bangladesh and Pakistan were part of the same land before Independence.”

Banerjee termed the SIR a “hurried and politically motivated” exercise, alleging that it was being carried out only in Opposition-ruled states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, but not in BJP-ruled Assam. The TMC, which had also opposed the National Register of Citizens (NRC), has been strongly against the SIR rollout, contending that it was a ploy to disenfranchise Opposition supporters and secure an advantage for the BJP.

With Assembly elections due in West Bengal next year, where the BJP has long set its sights, the TMC has called the SIR of electoral rolls a form of “silent, invisible rigging”. Assembly elections are also due in Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu next year. However, the Election Commission stated last week that the SIR in Assam would be held later as the NRC process was still ongoing.

Calling the move “clear discrimination aimed at helping the ruling party at the Centre”, Banerjee said the EC “must explain why there is no SIR in BJP-ruled Assam, Tripura and other northeastern states.”

The rally came a day after the BJP wrote to the poll panel, alleging that the Banerjee government had issued “backdated” and “forged” documents on a large scale and urging the commission to exercise caution while determining citizenship.

Banerjee claimed that seven persons in the state had died due to anxiety over the SIR process. “The EC must reveal how many Rohingyas and Bangladeshis were found in Bihar after the SIR process,” she said.

The TMC chief warned that even if a single eligible voter was removed from the electoral rolls in Bengal, the party would “ensure the fall of the BJP government”.