Kolkata, April 1 – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Congress of failing to respond to her appeal for support to the Trinamool Congress’ movement against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, both in the state and across the country.
She also alleged that the Congress did not take the issue of SIR seriously or extend support to voters during the revision process.
“I asked them several times to jointly move against the SIR and jointly approach the Election Commission of India (ECI). But they did not accept our appeal. They did not care about the people when the revision exercise was being conducted. It was only the booth-level agents of the Trinamool Congress who stood by the voters during the revision exercise,” the Chief Minister said at an election rally in Nabagram in Murshidabad district, where the Congress continues to have a strong support base.
Speaking at the rally, the Chief Minister also accused the Election Commission of India of specifically targeting her constituency of Bhabanipur in south Kolkata. “The names of an abnormal number of voters have been deleted from the voters’ list in Bhabanipur. But still I will fight and ultimately I will win,” she said.
According to her, the ECI had targeted minority, tribal and backward class voters during the revision process. “There are many Hindu voters whose names have been deleted from the voters’ list,” she added.
Without naming them directly, Banerjee also took an indirect swipe at the Aam Aadmi Unnayan Party (AAUP), founded by former Trinamool Congress legislator Humayun Kabir, and the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), which are jointly contesting in several Assembly constituencies, particularly minority-dominated ones.
“Some people will try to divide votes by making communally loaded statements. Do not let even a single vote be shared. This is the BJP’s game. They buy some people with money. They give cash before the election,” she said.
She also expressed apprehension that some Trinamool Congress leaders might be arrested just ahead of polling. “Probably that is why the ECI has changed the structure of the police administration in the state from top to bottom. But even after that, the Trinamool Congress will not bow down. We know how to fight,” the Chief Minister said.