Help Desks, Hitting The Streets: How Trinamool Plans To Tackle Bengal SIR

In a bid to ensure that no genuine voter is left out of the voter list after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress has said it will set up area-wise help desks from Tuesday, when the Booth Level Officers will begin visiting homes. The party's National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee has also warned of "taking the fight to Delhi" if voters' names are missing from the list.

During a virtual meeting on Friday, Banerjee told party leaders across the state to set up the help desks for at least a month and gear up for a major movement in Delhi if there is any omission in the voter list, sources said.

"We will take the fight to Delhi. I will also be on the streets for the next few months," Banerjee was quoted as saying, adding that the possibility of taking the legal route in such a situation was also discussed.

Giving a special responsibility to MPs and MLAs, the Trinamool brass has asked senior leaders to form a team of 15 people in each Assembly constituency. Party workers with hard copies are also matching them with the digital voter list.

Sources said there are reports of multiple anomalies, mainly from Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar and Ashoknagar in North 24 Paraganas. "Voters whose names were there in the 2002 list are not on the rolls released by the Election Commission now. Abhishek Banerjee raised this issue in the meeting too," said a source.

The sources said the upper rungs of the leadership were asked to keep an eye on the process in districts bordering Bangladesh, and Banerjee also gave an Assam example to bolster his point.

"We must be with the people of Bongaon, Ranaghat. Just like in Assam, where we saw lakhs of Hindus were left out (after the National Register of Citizens process), a lot of people will face difficulties in Bengal due to SIR. So, Trinamool workers must stand firm with them and provide all help," Banerjee said.

The Trinamool leader had assured people of fighting for them during an earlier address in the North 24 Paraganas district as well.

"Each family should rest assured. If they exclude even one person from Bengal from the voter list through the SIR and NRC, we will gherao the Election Commission in Delhi with one lakh people and teach them a lesson," he had said.