Kolkata, March 10 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called off her protest against the "flawed SIR" on its fifth day, saying the demonstration would be temporarily suspended after the Supreme Court ordered the establishment of an appellate mechanism regarding voter list revision.
The protest was called off on a day when the full bench of the Election Commission concluded its two-day visit to the state to review poll preparedness.
Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision to set up the appellate authority, Banerjee said that "the door has been opened" after the Election Commission's actions, bringing hope to those whose names were deleted or were under scrutiny due to discrepancies in the SIR.
The CM announced that the protest would be "temporarily withdrawn," stating that the TMC would continue to monitor the situation.
Banerjee also cited the request of Abhishek Banerjee, considered the second-in-command in the TMC, as a reason for calling off the protest.
He urged her to end the demonstration, citing the Supreme Court's order and the Election Commission's departure from the state.
The Supreme Court ordered the establishment of independent appellate tribunals, headed by former high court judges, to hear appeals against exclusions from voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Addressing a gathering on the fifth day of the protest, the TMC supremo said that citizens whose names were missing from the electoral roll should not lose hope and could approach the tribunal even before the last day of voting.
"Today's verdict is essentially a victory for the people of Bengal and the TMC. While the written order doesn't spell everything, after talking to our legal team, we understand that the Supreme Court rebuked the Election Commission, and it was clear that the Election Commission tried to mislead the court," she said.
According to the Supreme Court's order, one can go to the polling station on the last day of voting after approaching the tribunal and getting the issue addressed.
Those 58 lakh people whose names were deleted and those 60 lakh voters under scrutiny can apply to the tribunal and receive justice, she said.
Banerjee pointed out that the supplementary voter list has not yet been published by the Election Commission, and she is awaiting the outcome.
"Our lawyers were asked by the Supreme Court to inform it if genuine voters are being deprived. So let us wait and hope for justice," the CM said.
Claiming that more than 180 people have died due to panic caused by the SIR in Bengal, many of them by suicide, she said, "Please remain strong if you don't find your name in the list. The judicial officers are there; the tribunal is there. Our BLAs and other party functionaries are there. There is every possibility of your name having figured in the list finally."
Banerjee said that she had filed a petition in the apex court not as a CM or lawyer, but as a common citizen.
"We have faith in the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and the judicial officers will perform their responsibility. And let's wait for the next hearing of the case on March 25," she said.
Coming down heavily on the BJP-Centre for hiking LPG prices, she demanded immediate rollback of the decision.
"The money you (BJP) spend on advertising could be spent on the LPG subsidy," the TMC chief said.
"Don't you (BJP) know that Kerosene is not available? How can people cook? Will they collect wood and use chullahs to cook? You know that is not feasible in this age," she said.
Accusing the BJP government of destroying democracy, the Constitution, and history, Banerjee asked why chargesheets should not be filed against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah "for their dangerous, divisive, secessionist game."
"What is their problem if everyone, cutting across caste, community, and religion, stays together? Why do they want to divide people and harass citizens of this country in the name of the SIR exercise and CAA? I don't have any issue with SIR if it had been done properly, taking adequate time. How many dead bodies does this BJP want to see to serve their narrow political interest?" she said.
In a jibe at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Banerjee said the man who announced plans to crack down on the sale of fish and meat is now staying in the same hotel in Kolkata, where the CEC had stayed.
The chief minister, however, did not identify anyone by name.
"He is staying in the hotel along with other BJP leaders who want to take away our rights to consume fish and meat. They want to impose their diktat on what we should eat and what we should wear. People of Bengal will never accept such forces," she said.