SIR is a BJP plot to pick voters, says TMCs Abhishek Banerjee

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy to pick voters, Trinamool Congress (TMC) common secretary Abhishek Banerjee stated on Tuesday (October 28, 2025).

“Earlier, folks used to elect the federal government. Now, this BJP authorities desires to pick who will vote or not,” Mr. Banerjee stated, addressing a press convention on the Trinamool Congress celebration headquarters.

The TMC chief’s remarks got here a day after after the Election Commission of India (ECI) introduced the SIR of electoral rolls in 12 States, together with West Bengal.

Not a single voter must be overlooked within the West Bengal SIR, Mr. Banerjee stated. “If they dare to strike even a single reliable voter’s identify off Bengal’s checklist via the SIR, we are going to present what Bengal can do when democracy is challenged. And right here’s the promise — even after the SIR, Trinamool’s seats will solely rise,” Mr. Banerjee, thought-about the second-in-command within the celebration, stated.

Why was the SIR solely being carried out in West Bengal and never in any State bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar, when allegations of unlawful infiltration had risen from Bangladesh and Myanmar, and why had the SIR not been introduced for Assam or different northeastern States, he stated.

“Five northeast States share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Then why is the SIR being introduced solely in West Bengal, citing the presence of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas?” he stated.

The Trinamool Congress chief additionally challenged the ECI’s timeline for the verification train. “In 2002, the SIR was held in Bengal over a span of two years. How will the ECI full this mammoth process inside one or two months?” he stated.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have been accountable for the demise of Pradeep Kar, a resident of Panihati, allegedly from anxiousness attributable to the continuing risk of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Mr. Banerjee stated, including {that a} First Information Report must be filed in opposition to them.