Kolkata: Trinamool Congress national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday appealed to people to “boycott the BJP” in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, alleging that the party was targeting voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Banerjee made the remarks while addressing party workers at a sit-in demonstration at Esplanade in central Kolkata to protest against nearly 60 lakh people being placed in the “under adjudication” category in the final electoral rolls after the SIR exercise.
From the stage, Banerjee also urged the Election Commission to reveal how many “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” were identified in West Bengal during the SIR process.
He said he had written a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal seeking publication of the final and supplementary electoral rolls in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
“In 2021, some organisations said ‘No vote to BJP’. We have lost 172 fellow citizens due to the unplanned SIR. They gave their lives for the soil. We will not let their sacrifices go in vain. We are saying from this stage, with 10 crore people of Bengal as witnesses, that this time the BJP must be boycotted. Boycott BJP socially,” Banerjee said.
At the beginning of his speech, Banerjee criticised the Election Commission over the SIR exercise.
“About 58 lakh names were removed from the draft list published last year. After February 28, the number was found to be about 63.54 lakh. Around 60 lakh people are under the ‘under adjudication’ category. In total, nearly 1.20 crore people have been affected,” he said.
He further alleged that BJP leaders had been publicly citing such figures even before the SIR process began.
“This cannot be a coincidence. As long as these 60 lakh people do not get their rights, they will remain deprived. Until then, the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee will continue to protest on the streets,” he said.
The Trinamool Congress leader also demanded that the Election Commission disclose how many alleged illegal migrants had been identified during the revision exercise.
“Who will provide the list of those excluded? How many Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have been identified? When you (CEC Gyanesh Kumar) visit the state from March 8 to 10, please bring the list,” Banerjee said.
Commenting on the resignation of West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose amid the political controversy surrounding the SIR exercise, Banerjee said: “Whoever comes to Bengal eventually has to resign. Once it was Jagdeep Dhankhar, then C.V. Ananda Bose, and the next one will also resign. Wait for some time. After May 26 that will also happen.”
Criticising the BJP’s Parivartan Yatra in the state, Banerjee said: “They are organising a Rath Yatra. The BJP leaders will ride the chariots while ordinary people will remain on the roads. You are seeing the pictures of the Rath Yatra. The SIR has taken place there as well, but they are not concerned about the people. They are more interested in their so-called Parivartan Yatra.”
(IANS)
