Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday gave the example of her nephew, the Trinamool’s newly minted leader in the Lok Sabha Abhishek Banerjee, to explain the difficulties that the common person could face to produce documents specified by the Election Commission in its special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a process that is underway in neighbouring Bihar.
“The Election Commission says those born before 2002 will have to produce the birth certificates of their parents. Take Abhishek’s example. He was born in 1987. He is 37 years old now. From where will he get the birth certificates of his parents? Can Amit Shah produce the birth certificates of his parents?” Mamata asked at a public meeting in Jhargram, her second ‘Bhasha Andolan” (language movement) march.
Abhishek was born on November 7, 1987 to Mamata’s elder brother, Amit, and his wife, Lata.
The SIR in Bihar and harassment of poor Bengali-speakers in BJP-ruled states has given the Bengal chief minister a weapon to attack India’s ruling party.
Mamata has been up in arms against the SIR drive, through which around 65 lakh voters have already been deleted in Bihar.
Since the day Bihar’s SIR drive became public, Mamata has been warning that the real target is Bengal – due to vote next year – and “genuine” voters will be deprived of their right.
“I am saying this to the BJP voters as well. Whom you vote for is your democratic right. I have nothing to say regarding that. Just remember if I am not there, your voting rights will be in peril too,” Mamata said.
Without naming chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Mamata asked the voters to be vigilant about the electoral rolls.
“The EC is Amit Shah’s puppet. They will keep changing the voters’ list till the last day. Ensure that your name is there in the voters’ list every day till you go to the booth. It is possible even after everything your name may be missing from the electoral rolls,” she said.
Over the last couple of months the Trinamool has been aggressive on its posturing against the central poll panel and its alleged bias coupled with the attack on Bengali-speaking Muslims. The Delhi police in a recent FIR describing Bengali as “Bangladesh national language” has given the Trinamool additional firepower to hit the BJP.
“Now they are saying there is no Bengali language. Just imagine their audacity,” the chief minister said, referring to BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya’s attempted defence of the Delhi police. “When he [Narendra Modi] visits Dubai, he embraces the Sheikhs. I have no problems with that, but when he comes to Bengal he says all Muslims are Bangladeshi,” she said.
Mamata said the 1.5 crore migrants living in Bengal were treated as “Bengal’s own.”
“Then why will our people be mistreated? We have already brought back many of them. Their well-being is our responsibility. I am telling them there is no need to live in those states where they will be arrested and deported,” Mamata said.
