The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing the party of "dictating terms" to the central electoral body and issuing a strong warning against the deletion of any genuine electors from the list during the forthcoming Systematic Information Review (SIR) exercise.
Speaking at an anti-SIR rally in Bongaon, the Trinamool Congress leader pointed to the BJP's campaign in Bihar, alleging that although no one in the neighbouring state could see through the party’s "game," this would not be the case in Bengal. The Chief Minister issued a fierce personal warning to the BJP, stating she would take to the streets across the country and "shake the entire nation" if she or her supporters were targeted in her state.
"If you target me in Bengal and I consider any assault on my people as a personal attack, then I will shake the entire nation. I will travel the entire nation after elections are over," Mamata declared.
Addressing the Matua community at the rally, the Chief Minister reassured that the Election Commission (EC) lacked the authority to delete a single name and urged them not to be "scared".
"She reiterated: "It takes three years to conduct an SIR; the last one was done in 2002.We have never opposed the SIR, but we stated that no genuine voter can be deleted, especially those who are beneficiaries of various government schemes."
Banerjee asserted that the BJP was manipulating the process: "The BJP is fixing the list from their party office and the EC will decide accordingly. The EC is supposed to remain impartial. But it is acting like BJP's institute."
Accusing the BJP of targeting specific communities and attempting to manipulate the electoral process, she proclaimed: "BJP cannot fight and defeat me in my game," and stressed her commitment to safeguarding voters' rights in West Bengal, vowing that the BJP's efforts would fail despite the use of governmental agencies or resources.
She also highlighted her concerns about the impartiality of the SIR process by referring to the cancellation of her helicopter flight to the rally, labelling it a "conspiracy" by the BJP to prevent her from reaching the location. She underscored her determination by stressing that she reached Bongaon by road and proceeded to address the issues affecting the Matua community and other welfare beneficiaries.
Also read: Mamata flags ‘urgent concerns’ in letter to CEC
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