Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will return to the streets on Tuesday at Thakurnagar in North 24-Parganas to step up her protest against the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and reiterate that the exercise triggered widespread harassment of downtrodden Hindu migrants from Bangladesh.
Mamata had led a massive rally in Calcutta on November 4 when she described the SIR as “silent and invisible rigging” allegedly orchestrated by the BJP-led central government in collusion with the Election Commission of India.
On Tuesday, the chief minister will address a public meeting at Trikone Park in Bongaon town at 1pm before starting a 3km walk from Chandpara to Thakurnagar — the spiritual centre of the Matua community. She will then fly back to Calcutta by helicopter.
Trinamool Congress’s Bongaon organising district secretary and MLA Biswajit Das said Mamata’s fresh protest was intended to reassure Hindu migrants that she stood firmly with them at a time when many felt vulnerable under the SIR.
“Since a large number of downtrodden Hindu people migrated from Bangladesh, including Matuas, live in the Bongaon subdivision and have become panicked after the SIR exercise began — and many also committed suicide either after being threatened or becoming scared, Mamata Banerjee has decided to convey a message to them that she is with them and that there is no need to worry as long as she is there,” Das said.
He added: “Since the beginning, Mamata Banerjee has been the only person who has stood by these people in distress. She, along with Abhishek Banerjee, supports the common people. She has been protesting against the SIR since the beginning, and to reiterate her protest, she will visit our area, address a rally, and join the protest march.”
Das said the chief minister was deeply concerned about the difficulties faced by Matuas and other Hindu migrants while filling out SIR forms, many of whom fear that their names would be excluded from the voters’ list. “She is very concerned about the Matuas for the troubles they have been facing while filling out the SIR form. If anyone has worked for the Matuas, it is our chief minister. It was Baluda (Jyotipriya Mallick) who first took her to the Thakur family in Thakurnagar. Matuas are still with her,” he added.
Amid the fear of exclusion from the voters' list, as the initial mapping of the Assembly segments shown before the SIR exercise began, members of the pro-Trinamool faction of the All India Matua Mahasangha began a hunger strike on November 5.
They withdrew their strike after 13 days following an appeal from Trinamool’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Mahasangha members, led by Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member Mamatabala Thakur, requested Mamata to visit Thakurnagar to personally reassure the devotees.
Trinamool insiders said Mamata's upcoming visit would be in response to that appeal. “We requested all political parties to support our issue. But as usual, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee has supported us wholeheartedly and agreed to reassure the Matuas about her support. She will personally be present here to speak to the Matuas and walk in a protest rally," Mamatabala said.
BJP leaders, however, have countered that Trinamool is deliberately fueling panic among migrants to shield what they describe as a large pool of “fake voters” thriving under the ruling party’s patronage. The BJP has alleged that Trinamool’s resistance to the SIR is a “desperate attempt to protect its illegal vote bank,” insisting that the revision process is simply meant to clean electoral rolls across the state.
Even as the political confrontation continues to escalate, Trinamool has set up helpdesks across the state since November 4 to guide people facing difficulties with the SIR.
Abhishek meet
Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday will hold a virtual meeting with over 10,000 party leaders to review the situation arising out of the SIR. Before the Election Commission began the enumeration process, he had conducted a virtual meeting with the party leaders and directed how they would work during the process.