Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a Mega rally protesting SIR in the state.
The rally started from Red Road and culminated at Jorasankho Thakurbari, the ancestral house
of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Speaking at the culminating point, Mamata slammed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and mentioned that ‘speaking in Bengali doesn’t mean that the person is Bangladeshi’.
“BJP was not there during the fight for freedom. That is the reason they don’t know the history properly. By speaking Hindi or Urdu one cannot be termed as Pakistani, but BJP is levelling everyone who is speaking Bengali as Bangladeshi. This SIR is politically motivated as four states are going for Assembly elections next year: West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. SIR is happening in three opposition ruled states and not in Assam which have ‘double engine’,” said Mamata.
Mamata also urged people to visit help desks which are being opened by Trinamool Congress (TMC) if their names are not featured in the voters list.
“I have heard that several genuine voters' names from the 2002 voter’s list have been deleted. No genuine voters will be left out. Bengal always gives tough fights for which even the British had shifted their capital to Delhi from Kolkata. I give respect to the chairs but I won’t name anyone but there is a certain ‘Mirzaffar’ who is unnecessarily trying to create tension,” further mentioned the West Bengal Chief Minister.
Taking potshots at the Election Commission, Mamata slammed the poll body for not considering the Aadhar card as valid proof for getting the voter’s name inserted in the SIR list.
“How many Rohingyas were there in Bihar? Did the Election Commission remove their names? The central government took Rs. 1000 per person for making Aadhar cards. From demonetization to SIR all decisions are gimmick,” mentioned Mamata also asserting that TMC will give ‘stiff fight’ for the benefit of common people.
On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari meeting CEO alleged that Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and I-PAC are creating fake birth certificates for people.
“Today’s rally of TMC is the rally of ‘Jamats’. This rally is to protect the illegal infiltrators. SIR will happen in Bengal,” added Adhikari.
Meanwhile, BLOs started distributing enumeration forms to common people at various parts of the state. Talking to the media, BLOs mentioned two forms will be given to the citizens out of which one they will collect and the counterpart will remain with the voter.
