TMC's Abhishek Banerjee
Credit: PTI Photo
Kolkata: TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday said if the name of a single elector in West Bengal is removed unfairly from the final voter list, the party will gherao the Election Commission with one lakh people from state.
Speaking to reporters at NSC Bose International Airport upon his return from New Delhi, the Diamond Harbour MP asserted that the proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will not happen in Bengal.
"My party’s position is clear — the way the BJP wants to implement SIR in Bengal, compressing what is typically a 1–2-year-long exercise into just 1–2 months, will inevitably result in poor people being the first to be left out. In Bihar, 65 lakh names were removed," Banerjee said.
Therefore, "to those who say 'yes SIR' and have sold an institution like the EC, we are saying 'no SIR'. SIR will not happen in Bengal. If even one name is removed, we will gherao the EC with 1 lakh Bengalis," he added.
Regarding discussions on SIR, Banerjee, the new TMC leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, said, "All parties of INDIA bloc unanimously condemned the way the EC is functioning and acting upon the directives of the BJP. The elections have been rigged and that too has been thoroughly discussed. The same thing was briefed to all the leaders of the INDIA bloc by Rahul Gandhi, who had invited all of us yesterday." "We have made our stand clear — we want the House to function. I also met the Speaker yesterday and requested that if there is nothing to hide, why is there no discussion on SIR?" he said.
"But this continued insult towards Bengalis and the Bengali language, branding them as Bangladeshis, and the targeted persecution in BJP-ruled states, must also be addressed. The Centre either has something to hide or is afraid of the truth — that’s why they are not allowing the House to function," he added.
He said, "There are many seats in Bengal such as Balurghat, Bishnupur and Purulia where the BJP won by a margin of 15,000-20,000 votes and try to adopt unfair means. We have had a detailed discussion on this." Opposing SIR, he said, "Our stand remains the same. An exercise which takes two years, how will you do it in 1-2 months? You made 99 per cent enumeration forms filled up in Bihar. Last time, it happened in 2002 and the list was out in 2004."
"And if you say the electoral rolls has discrepancies, then this same voter list was used in the 2024 election and on that basis, the government was elected. Does that mean the government is illegal? Are the PM, Union Home Minister and all Union ministers illegal," he asked.
Referring to the opposition roadmap in the coming days, he said, "On August 11, I.N.D.I.A. bloc's delegation will go to the EC office in Delhi. They will march from Parliament. TMC MPs will be there, but because of some prior commitments, I will not be able to attend."
"This is open for everyone to see. There are fake voters, cases where one name appears 4–5 times, and addresses showing 200–250 non-existent voters. One person voting in both Varanasi and Karnataka — if the voters are illegal, then the entire government elected through that process is illegal," he said.
"The same tactics they tried to use against us have now backfired. The truth has been exposed," he added.
"Our priority is Bengal. Whoever stands by us, we will also stand by them. It can be any political party. We have no objection if they support our cause. if they [parties] walk two steps for us, we will also do the same for them. We have no ego. We are against the authoritarian BJP. We have made this clear since day one," he reiterated.
On release of MGNREGA funds from Centre, he said according to Calcutta High Court order, it should have started from August 1.
"But it is August 8, and nothing has started yet. They are committing contempt of court. If needed, a delegation will meet the Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Jal Jeevan Mission funds amounting to over Rs 2,500 crore have also also stopped. A TMC delegation will also meet the 'Jal Shakti' Minister in the coming days. We have sought time in this session itself. If he gives time, we will ask why Bengal's funds have been stopped," he said.
To a question if there was any talk about any consensus candidate among the I.N.D.I.A. bloc for the vice-president's post, he said, "No such discussions have taken place till now. We will decide on the matter at an appropriate time."