Baharampur (West Bengal): Addressing a public meeting in Murshidabad on Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of playing politics based on religion regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in the state. Mamata said, “More than half of those killed in SIR-related incidents were Hindus. Don’t cut the branch you’re sitting on.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked that Rohingya people infiltrate from states like Assam and Tripura, which border Bangladesh, so wasn’t the SIR exercise initiated there because they are BJP-ruled states? Mamata further alleged that Amit Shah was planning to impose President’s Rule in West Bengal if we hadn’t allowed SIR.
Mamata said, “If I hadn’t allowed SIR, they would have imposed President’s Rule without a vote.” Mamata Banerjee, targeting Amit Shah, said, “Do you understand Amit Shah’s trick? We are not that stupid, Babumoshai, Godibhai! We will do it, we will fight. We will win.”
CM Mamata Banerjee described the implementation of the SIR, which began just before the state assembly elections, as the first step towards implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Addressing a public rally at the Baharampur Stadium in Murshidabad on Thursday, she alleged that while it appears simple on the surface, there is a deep conspiracy behind it to strip Bengalis of their citizenship and render them homeless. Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee once again stated that she will not allow the NRC to be implemented in Bengal. She said, “Even if they slit my throat, I will not allow any detention camps to be built here and will not expel anyone.”
Mamata Banerjee also strongly refuted the allegations repeatedly made by the BJP and the central government that Bengal is a safe haven for infiltrators. She directly blamed the Home Ministry and the BSF for the Rohingya issue. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Who brought the Rohingya to Bengal? Where will we bring them from? The Rohingya will come from your Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Nagaland. Why isn’t there a SIR there? Because the BJP is in power there?”
Showing a list of central security agencies, she asked, “Who controls the borders? You. The BSF, CISF, SSB, and ITBP—who controls them all? Who controls the passports? You. Who controls the visas? You. Can we blame only them?”
She alleged that the infiltration is due to a lack of oversight by central agencies, while the Trinamool Congress is being blamed for political gain. She claimed that there are no Rohingya in West Bengal. The Rohingya are in Bangladesh and in the BJP’s double-engine states—Assam and Tripura. Why isn’t a SIR being implemented there?
To allay public fears, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once again stated from the stage that she herself has not yet participated in the SIR process nor worked to get her name included in the voter list. She stated that she will not do so herself until people have safely completed the process.
Questioning the duration of the SIR, she said that implementing it just three months before the assembly elections is a tactic to mislead the public. Recalling the pain of the Partition, she reassured the displaced people from Upper Bengal. Her message was, “The displaced families who have come from Upper Bengal with great difficulty are Indian citizens. They are citizens of this country. Therefore, there will be no NRC in Bengal.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also spoke out against the disrespect of the Bengali language. She spoke against the practice of calling anyone who speaks Bengali a “Bangladeshi.” She said, “Remember that Bengali is the language of our hearts. Just as I respect other languages, we respect our own language too. I will speak Bengali not once, but thousands, millions, and crores of times. Because we have learned to say ‘mother’ in our language since birth. I will not tolerate disrespect or injustice towards this language.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also assured the people of administrative support so that common people do not panic and take wrong steps. She warned that there could be a conspiracy to bring down the server or remove names while adding or correcting names in the voter list. Mamata said, “Enroll your name in the voter list. In some places, the server is down. If you are called for a hearing, you must go.”
Assuring the people of Murshidabad, Mamata said, “Our land or property cannot be taken away from us. This is our constitutional right.” She alleged that funding and internal discussions were being conducted to spread communalism. But the people of Murshidabad should not fall into this trap.”
