Mamata Banerjee addresses anti-SIR crowd and leads 3-km protest in North 24 Parganas, accusing ECI of BJP favoritism and vowing to protect Matua voters from deletions.
Warns of "shaking" BJP nationwide if Bengal is targeted, slams SIR's selective rollout (absent in Assam) as a ploy to disenfranchise genuine electorate ahead of 2026 polls.
Reiterates calls to halt "coercive" SIR citing BLO suicides, outsourcing concerns, and rushed timelines; letters to CEC highlight risks to democratic fairness.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unleashed a torrent of criticism against the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday, November 25, over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging it is a politically motivated ploy to disenfranchise genuine voters in the state. Speaking at an anti-SIR rally in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas district, Banerjee branded the ECI as the "BJP's Commission," questioning if voter lists were being prepared from BJP offices and vowing fierce resistance to protect Bengal's democratic fabric.
The Trinamool Congress supremo led a three-kilometer protest march from Bongaon to Thakurnagar, flanked by party heavyweights and enthusiastic supporters waving flags and chanting slogans against the SIR exercise, which she described as "chaotic, coercive, and dangerous." Banerjee highlighted the selective implementation of SIR in Bengal but not in BJP-ruled Assam despite its impending polls, accusing the central government of engineering voter deletions to tilt the scales for the 2026 Assembly elections.
"If your name gets deleted, the central government should also be deleted," she thundered to thunderous applause, escalating her rhetoric by warning that any attempt to "strike" her in Bengal would prompt her to "shake the whole country" and dismantle BJP's foundations nationwide.
This outburst follows a series of letters Banerjee penned to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, including one on November 20 urging an immediate halt to SIR due to its "unrealistic workload" and "impossible timelines" that have allegedly led to suicides among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and anganwadi workers under pressure.
