Kolkata, Oct 27 (PTI) The BJP on Monday accused the ruling TMC of “deliberately distorting” the purpose of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal to safeguard what it described as the party’s “fake vote bank”, claiming that infiltrators were being added to the rolls while Indian voters were being struck off.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday announced that phase two of the SIR will be conducted in 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, which will go to polls in 2026.
“SIR is not just a simple name inclusion exercise. It is a battle to protect the backbone of democracy,” BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya told reporters here after EC’s announcement this evening.
He alleged that in the border districts — North and South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpur — the TMC was trying to include the names of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators in the voter list.
“On the other hand, genuine Indian citizens, especially Hindu refugees and ordinary voters, are being intentionally removed so that the TMC can keep its fake vote bank alive,” he claimed.
Bhattacharya said the BJP has taken a “clear stance” against what it called a political conspiracy.
“Those who are born on this soil and have an Indian identity must not lose their right to vote. No infiltrator should get an entry into India’s democracy,” he asserted.
He said the saffron party has repeatedly demanded that the entire SIR process be made fully digital and transparent.
“SIR must be fully digital. Every application, deletion and objection should be digitally documented and verifiable,” he said, adding that this is what the TMC fears the most.
“The day the voter list becomes a list of true Indian citizens, TMC’s politics based on fake foundations will collapse,” Bhattacharya said.
He vowed that BJP workers would reach out to households across the state to ensure voter rights are protected.
“We will free the voter list of bogus names, safeguard democracy and rid Bengal of the vicious cycle of fake votes,” he said, urging citizens to participate in the democratic process starting Monday.
“Let everyone take part and protect their voting rights,” Bhattacharya added.
The others are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
He said the first phase of SIR was completed in Bihar with zero appeals and noted that this is the ninth SIR since Independence, the last one having been held in 2002-04.
The enumeration process in phase two will begin on November 4, draft rolls will be published on December 9, and final rolls on February 7.
Assam, which also goes to polls in 2026, will have its own separate voter roll revision exercise. PTI PNT MNB
Category: Breaking News
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