"Tie Them Up": Abhishek Banerjee's Advice To People Asked For Birth Certificates

Bengal's Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee called for a no-holds barred battle with the BJP today over the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in the state, where assembly elections are due next year.  In a clear-cut message to party workers and supporters, he said any request for birth certificates is to be met with the strongest resistance. 

"If local BJP leaders enter the locality, gherao them and ask them to show their father's and grandfather's certificate when they come to campaign," he said. 

"Ask them to bring the certificates and then allow them to campaign. Tie them up till then. Tie them up to trees and posts but don't raise your hand. I believe in peace. Tell them to bring their certificate and then untie them. First show the certificates that Amit Shah and your (the BJP's) government is asking us to show," he added.

BJP Versus Trinamool Over SIR

The Trinamool Congress, which had passed a resolution in the state assembly against the National Registry of Citizens, has also taken a hard line against the Special Revision, agreeing with other Opposition parties that it is a ploy to disenfranchise their supporters. 

Trinamool chief and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already said that producing birth certificates could be difficult for people, especially the elderly, since many of them had home births. 

The matter has escalated since the Election Commission's announcement about the nationwide rollout of SIR two days ago. 

The Commission, though, has made it clear that not everyone will need to show birth certificates. 

Birth certificates are just one of the 12 supporting documents - including Aadhaar - only one of which would be needed by voters who could not be linked with previous SIR Electoral Rolls to establish their identity.

But with the assembly elections in Bengal inching closer and the state being a prize the BJP has been eyeing for long, the Trinamool Congress is expecting a major tussle over the Special Revision. 

Suicide Over SIR?

Abhishek Banerjee's remarks came today after he visited the family of a 57-year-old man, Pradeep Kar, who allegedly died by suicide over fear of SIR and the alleged NRC exercise.

Linking Kar's death directly to the SIR, Banerjee said, "Kar died due to anxiety over NRC and SIR. An FIR should be filed against Shah and Kumar".

He accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of being responsible for the "climate of panic" and questioned if they would be able to furnish the documents they are demanding from ordinary citizens.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of spreading fear and "weaponising NRC".