- Home Minister Amit Shah plotted SIR to topple Bengal's Trinamool government: Mamata Banerjee
- Banerjee criticised the Election Commission's "hasty" SIR, citing deaths and unrest in Bengal
- She assured voters no one will be sent to detention camps and promised helpdesks for excluded voters
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in poll-bound West Bengal was Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "clever ploy" to topple the 14-year-old Trinamool Congress government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged today, adding that such plans won't succeed.
Addressing a public gathering against SIR in the border district of Malda in north Bengal, Banerjee said the BJP is "digging its own grave" by carrying out the voter list review just before the Assembly polls. "They cannot take over Bengal. People of Bengal will never support you. Bengal is different from Bihar," she said.
She said the Election Commission's "hasty" decision to hold SIR in Bengal had scared people. "We have not said we are against SIR or Census. But it needs time. You are desperate to do it during the elections. You are behaving like zamindars. In Bengal, 39 people have lost their lives due to SIR, 13 are battling death in hospitals, and three have attempted suicide. Why the hurry for SIR? To overwhelm the state government and derail its development plan ahead of the polls," she said.
Banerjee said she is a "watchman" for the people of Bengal. "I am assuring the women and sisters of Malda, do not worry, no one will need to go to the detention camp. I am guarding you," she said, adding that her party is setting up helpdesks for people left out of the voter list during SIR.
Attacking the BJP, she said that "communal forces" are trying to divide people. "We brought resolutions in the Assembly and lodged a case in the Supreme Court against the Waqf law. Till I am there, I will not allow anyone to touch these places. I will not allow the politics of religion. I love all religions."
Banerjee said the BJP should not try to "teach Hindutva" to her. "We have built the Jagannath temple in Digha and skywalks at Kalighat Temple and Dakhineswar. We are setting up a Durga Angan and building a Mahakal temple. What have you done?" she said.
She said the BJP is like a "bed bug". "They bite till you remove them. They must be removed politically so Bengal is no longer harmed," she said. Banerjee told the Malda gathering that she had not come to them for votes. "I have not come to ask for votes. I have come to stand by you. Do not be afraid. No one will go to a detention camp. Your names will not be dropped. Bengal will remain safe."
Last month, shortly after Banerjee's request to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to stop the SIR in Bengal, Home Minister Shah had said some parties are on a mission to protect infiltrators. "Preventing infiltration is not only necessary for the security of the country, but also essential to protect our democratic system from being corrupted. Unfortunately, some political parties are opposing the 'ghuspaithiya hatao' campaign and the voter list purification drive being carried out by the Election Commission under SIR," he said, without naming any party.
