West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a strong political offensive against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, describing him as “dangerous” and accusing the Centre of attempting a large-scale deletion of voters in the state. She alleged that nearly 1.5 crore names were being targeted for removal through the State-wide Summary Revision (SIR) process of the electoral rolls.
Addressing a public event, Banerjee claimed that the SIR mechanism was being “misused deliberately” to alter the voter list ahead of upcoming elections. She stated that several complaints had surfaced from different districts about legitimate voters finding their names missing or marked for deletion without proper verification. According to her, the scale of alleged irregularities indicates a well-planned effort to manipulate the democratic process.
Mamata Banerjee said that the ruling BJP, under Amit Shah’s guidance, was attempting to “engineer electoral outcomes” by influencing the voter rolls rather than winning public support. She warned that such actions posed a grave threat to the “sanctity of elections” and accused the Centre of orchestrating the exercise with political intent.
The Chief Minister demanded immediate intervention from the Election Commission of India, urging it to conduct an impartial review of the SIR process in Bengal. She emphasised that her government would “not allow even a single voter to be disenfranchised” and called upon citizens, political parties, and civil society organisations to remain vigilant and report any anomaly.
Banerjee also criticised what she called the Centre’s repeated attempts to destabilise state institutions and undermine the federal structure. She said that Bengal had always stood firm against authoritarian tendencies and would continue to protect democratic rights.
The BJP, however, dismissed her allegations as politically motivated, stating that the SIR was a routine administrative exercise conducted under the guidelines of the Election Commission. Party leaders said that Banerjee was “creating panic” to divert attention from governance issues in the state.
The controversy has triggered a fresh round of political confrontation in Bengal, with both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP preparing for high-stakes electoral battles in the coming months.
