Mamata accuses Shah of ‘orchestrating’ SIR to unsettle voters, warns BJP has ‘dug its own grave’ in Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP over the Election Commission’s rollout of the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls, accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of “masterminding” a hurried exercise aimed at unsettling voters months before the Assembly election.

Addressing a massive anti-SIR rally in Gazole, Malda, Banerjee said the BJP had “misread Bengal” and ended up “digging its own grave” by pushing for a rapid revision that triggered anxiety across communities.

“Home Minister Amit Shah is behind this ploy,” she alleged. “He wants to capture Bengal at any cost. But by forcing SIR in this manner, you have dug your own grave. Bengal and Bihar are not the same. You cannot win Bengal by trickery.”

Banerjee said the Election Commission’s 4 November rollout of SIR had unleashed widespread fear, with many citizens fearing arbitrary deletions of voter names. “Till now, 39 ordinary citizens — including four BLOs — have died due to SIR panic. We are supporting their families. This trauma cannot continue,” she said, adding that similar distress had occurred in other states.

She insisted the Trinamool Congress was not opposing the revision itself but the “politically motivated haste”.

“We are not against SIR or census. But why this tearing hurry? Why should a citizen have to prove again that he is a citizen?” she asked.

Banerjee alleged the exercise was timed to disrupt the state’s development schemes and block welfare delivery.

She announced that starting 12 December, the TMC would set up statewide “May I Help You” camps to assist people during SIR hearings later this month. She urged migrant workers to submit their forms promptly, warning that failure to do so could lead to removal of names.

Turning to ideological issues, Banerjee said, “We do not need to learn Hindutva from the BJP. I practise secular politics and respect every religion. I will not allow unrest in Bengal.”

She accused the Centre of attempting to create an “Emergency-like situation”, adding, “People speak the last word. They will not forgive you.”

Attacking the BJP, she said, “The BJP is like bed bugs — they bite till you remove them. They must be removed politically so Bengal is no longer harmed.”

Banerjee also criticised the Centre for withholding funds. “Bengal is to receive Rs 1.87 lakh crore. You have taken everything and now even want cigarette taxes. And then you want to grab Bengal forcefully?” she said.

The chief minister referred to the case of Sunali (Sonali) Khatun, the pregnant woman and her child who were pushed into Bangladesh earlier this year and whose return the Supreme Court allowed on humanitarian grounds on Wednesday. “We fought this case,” she said. “Why was a Bengali woman branded Bangladeshi and pushed back?”

Banerjee vowed, “As long as I am here, no Bengali will be pushed back or sent to detention camps.”

The confrontation over SIR has intensified political tensions as Bengal approaches one of its most polarised Assembly elections, with the TMC calling the revision a tool of intimidation and the BJP insisting it is a routine administrative process.

“I have not come to ask for votes,” Banerjee told the crowd. “I have come to stand by anxious citizens. Do not be afraid. Your names will not be dropped. Bengal will remain safe.”

With PTI inputs