TMC, BJP trade charges as alleged SIR-linked suicide incidents trigger tension

West Bengal’s political atmosphere turned increasingly volatile on Wednesday as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed over two suspected suicide cases — one near Kolkata and another in Cooch Behar — allegedly linked to panic over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

While TMC national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP of spreading fear and urged people to “tie up” local saffron party leaders if they demanded proof of ancestry, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari countered that the ruling party was “peddling lies” for political mileage.

The controversy erupted after 57-year-old Pradeep Kar of Panihati in North 24 Parganas district allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday. Police said Kar appeared anxious over the SIR exercise, and a note recovered from his home reportedly mentioned his fear of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The ECI had on Tuesday announced SIR schedule across 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal. The exercise, which follows a similar drive in Bihar where over 45 lakh “ineligible” names were struck off the rolls, aims to verify voters’ eligibility and update electoral records ahead of upcoming polls.

However, the TMC and other opposition parties have claimed the process is a “backdoor attempt” by the Centre to replicate the NRC model — first implemented in Assam — and create anxiety among vulnerable communities.

After visiting Kar’s family in Panihati on Wednesday, Abhishek Banerjee launched an all-out attack on the BJP and ECI. “Kar died due to anxiety over NRC and SIR. An FIR should be filed against Amit Shah and (chief election commissioner) Gyanesh Kumar,” Banerjee said, holding them responsible for “creating a climate of panic”.

He was accompanied by senior TMC MPs Partha Bhowmick and Nirmal Ghosh, and youth leader Debraj Chakraborty. Party leaders said Kar’s handwritten note reflected deep fear about being asked to produce documents such as birth certificates or ancestral records.

Addressing party supporters later, Banerjee issued a provocative call: “Next time local BJP leaders come to your area, stop them and ask them to furnish their parents’ certificates. Tie them to a tree or lamp post and tell them they won’t be released until they produce their parents’ and grandparents’ documents,” he said. “We do not believe in violence. Don’t assault them, just tie them up if they ask for your parents’ birth certificates.”

The remarks drew immediate condemnation from BJP leaders, who accused the TMC of promoting vigilantism.

Adhikari dismissed allegations that Kar’s death was linked to the voter verification drive. “Kar’s death is in no way related to the issue of NRC or SIR. The unfortunate incident must be due to some other reason,” he said.

Adhikari pointed out that Kar’s name had appeared in the 2002 electoral rolls and he had participated in that year’s Assembly election from the Panihati segment. “The TMC has built up false narratives in an insensitive manner. The people of Bengal will give a befitting reply to such propaganda,” the Nandigram MLA said.

Adhikari also announced that the BJP would hold a counter-rally in Panihati on 4 November, responding to the TMC’s call for a protest march demanding “justice for Pradeep Kar”.

Even as the political crossfire intensified, another alarming incident was reported from Cooch Behar district. Police said 63-year-old Khairul Sheikh, a resident of Jitpur in Dinhata, allegedly consumed poison on Wednesday, fearing his voter registration details had been wrongly recorded in the 2002 list. He is now under treatment at the Cooch Behar district hospital.

The TMC accused the BJP and ECI of creating widespread panic through the SIR process. “Two lives. Two tragedies. One cause. BJP’s politics of hate. How many more lives will it take, Narendra Modi, for you to stop weaponising citizenship?” the party posted on X.

Senior TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy claimed the fear was especially pronounced among residents of former enclaves in Cooch Behar, who received Indian citizenship only after the 2015 land boundary agreement with Bangladesh. “Many of these people are worried about being declared outsiders in their own land. The Commission must take responsibility. Two consecutive incidents show how the SIR is affecting lives,” he said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing a separate event, accused the BJP of using citizenship and identification drives as tools to sow division. “This is the BJP’s politics of fear and division. Their campaign around NRC and similar exercises has created panic among ordinary people,” she said on Tuesday.

Banerjee reiterated that her government would resist any attempt to implement NRC-like measures in the state. The TMC has consistently maintained that the SIR, coupled with the Centre’s citizenship policies, risks reviving anxieties similar to those seen during the 2019–20 protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC.

Barrackpore police commissioner Muralidhar Sharma confirmed that Kar was found hanging at his home and said preliminary findings suggested he had been “depressed after the announcement of the SIR exercise”.

The ECI, however, has defended the drive as a routine voter list revision process, conducted every year to ensure accuracy. BJP leaders in Bengal echoed that view. “The allegations are baseless. They are trying to give a political twist to every incident,” a local BJP spokesperson said.

The SIR is an enhanced voter roll verification exercise carried out by the ECI to identify duplicate, deceased or ineligible voters. While the EC maintains that the process is purely administrative, political parties in West Bengal — particularly the TMC — view it with suspicion amid the Centre’s past efforts to implement the NRC.

The NRC aims to distinguish legal Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants and has been implemented only in Assam, where nearly 19 lakh residents were left off the final list in 2019, leading to widespread criticism and legal challenges.

In Bengal, where identity politics and migration remain sensitive issues, the latest incidents have reignited fears and political tensions — with both the TMC and BJP accusing each other of exploiting tragedy for electoral gain.

With PTI inputs