Trinamool making mockery of EC, trying to shield infiltrators: Shahnawaz Hussain on SIR row

New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) The BJP on Saturday intensified its attack on the Trinamool Congress over its objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, with senior party leaders accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led party of trying to “protect illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators” under the guise of safeguarding voter rights. 

Reacting to the Trinamool delegation’s visit to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the party was attempting to undermine a fair electoral process for political gains.

Speaking to IANS, Hussain said, “TMC wants to make a mockery of the Election Commission. They went to the EC with an agenda to make baseless remarks, alleging that its hands are coloured with blood and that it is not working fairly. They are only making statements without facts.”

He added that the SIR process had taken place smoothly in Bihar, but the moment it began in West Bengal, the Trinamool reacted because it feared its “vote bank” might be impacted.

“They are only trying to protect illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. Even in Bihar, the names deleted from the voters' list were of people who had died, moved away, or were Bangladeshis. The TMC is consistently trying to shield Bangladeshi infiltrators,” Hussain said.

Echoing similar sentiments, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari defended the SIR exercise, stating that it was a routine action conducted by the Election Commission to ensure accuracy in electoral rolls.

“There will be SIR. If any vote is found invalid, it will be cancelled, and if a valid vote has been wrongly deleted, it will be restored. Those who oppose this will be taught a lesson by the public,” Tiwari said.

The remarks come a day after a delegation of 10 Trinamool MPs met the full Bench of the Election Commission alleging that the SIR in West Bengal was an exclusionary exercise aimed at “quietly pushing Bengalis out.” The delegation further flagged around 40 alleged SIR-related deaths, accusing the poll panel chief of having “blood on his hands.”

The SIR is currently underway in 12 States and Union Territories, including West Bengal, after the Election Commission completed the same exercise in Bihar.

Led by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, the Trinamool team included Lok Sabha MPs Mahua Moitra, Satabdi Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Sajda Ahmed, along with Rajya Sabha MPs Dola Sen, Mamata Thakur, Saket Gokhale and Prakash Chik Barik.

--IANS

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