Mamata’s attack on BJP, Election Commission over Bengal SIR row: 5 quotes

Addressing an anti-SIR rally in Bongaon, Mamata Banerjee also claimed that voters in Matua-majority areas in the state would be “immediately delisted” if they declared themselves foreigners under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Attacking the ECI, the chief minister said the Election Commission is “no longer an impartial body, but has turned into a BJP Commission.” The CM asserted that she had told the BJP “umpteen times” that it cannot “fight and defeat” her politically.

Banerjee, during the rally, questioned why the SIR was being conducted in BJP-ruled states if the aim was to remove “illegal Bangladeshis”, wondering whether the party was “accepting that there are ‘ghuspaithiyas’ in double-engine ruled states”.

“I love Bangladesh as a country, because our language is the same. I am from Birbhum, but one day they will call me Bangladeshi. PM Modi got votes in 2024 as per the same list. If your name gets deleted, the Central government should also be deleted. Why conducting SIR in such a hurry?” the CM asked.

She claimed that the draft voter list would reveal “the disastrous situation created by the Election Commission and the BJP”. The CM further said, “If SIR is conducted over two-three years, we will support exercise with every possible resource.”

Addressing the crowd, Mamata asked, “Till I am here, I will not allow them to throw you out. Nobody can throw you out. If Bangladeshi is a problem, then why are you conducting SIR in Madhya Pradesh and UP?”