Mamata Warns of Dharna Over Deletion of Voter Names During SIR, Attacks Amit Shah

PTI, KRISHNANAGAR, DECEMBER 11, 2025: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called Union Home Minister Amit Shah "dangerous", warning that she would sit on a dharna if even a single eligible voter's name was struck off from the list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Launching a blistering attack on Shah, the Chief Minister said at a rally in Krishnanagar, Nadiadistrict: "The country's Home Minister is dangerous. You can see it in his eyes - it's terrifying. In one eye, you see 'Duryodhan', and in the other, 'Dushasan'." Alleging that the SIR was being used as a political weapon ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, Mamata said: "If even a single eligible voter's name is struck off, I will sit on a dharna. There will be no detention camps in West Bengal. They are so hungry for votes that they are conducting the SIR just two months before elections."

The Chief Minister said that she herself had not filled out her enumeration form so far. "Do I now need to prove my citizenship to a party of rioters?" she said, in an apparent reference to the BJP. Accusing the Centre of targeting Bengalis, she said: "We have a (Union) Home Minister who can do anything to label all Bengalis as Bangladeshis and send them to detention camps. But we will not allow anyone to be driven out of West Bengal. We know very well how to bring someone back if they are forced out."

Mamata further alleged that the Election Commission was deploying officers aligned with the BJP to influence the process. "Some BJP-backed people are being sent from Delhi to keep an eye on things in West Bengal. They are overseeing the work of district magistrates during SIR hearings," she claimed.

The Chief Minister on Thursday also tore into the BJP over the assault on two food vendors at a recent Bhagavad Gita recital event in Kolkata, asserting that the state would not tolerate intimidation, communal division, or attempts to dictate what people should eat. 

"This is West Bengal, not Uttar Pradesh," she declared, vowing stringent action against those responsible. Mamata said all the accused had been arrested within hours. "They beat up poor patty sellers. We arrested everyone last night. In every gathering, hawkers sell some food or the other. You have beaten a poor hawker. I will not spare anyone who harasses the poor," she said.

Linking the incident to what she described as an atmosphere of fear created in the name of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, she alleged: "From SIR to the harassment of poor vendors, everything is part of their conspiracy before elections."

The CM condemned what she said was the BJP's attempt to "import a culture of communal division" and weaponise religious texts for political mobilisation. "I do not believe in communal divisions. I respect all religions. What is the need to hold a public meeting just to read the Gita? We all read and recite the Gita. Those who pray to God or seek blessings from Allah do so in their hearts," she said.

Accusing the BJP of trying to "destroy Bengal", she charged, "They want to capture the state and stop people from speaking Bengali." The Chief Minister also mounted a sweeping attack on the BJP's interpretation of Bengal's icons. "Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote Vande Mataram, is now 'Bankim Da'—as if they share tea with him. Master Da Surya Sen is being called Master! They claim Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is not a national leader."

Reiterating that her government would protect personal freedoms, Mamata warned: "Remember, BJP will not allow consumption of non-veg. It is your choice whether you want to eat non-veg or not. But I will not allow anyone to interfere in the matters of Adivasis, minorities or tapasilis."

The CM declared that her government would never permit detention camps in the state. "This is Bengal, not UP. We will not allow detention camps here. As long as we are in power, no such camp will be allowed to come up," she added.