Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar, Mamata warned women that their voting rights were under threat. “In the name of SIR, they will try to snatch away the rights of mothers and sisters. If your names are cut, use your kitchen utensils and fight. Women will fight from the front, men will stand behind,” she said. She accused the Centre of targeting Bengalis by labelling them as illegal migrants and sending them to detention camps.
Mamata asserted that the SIR process, which has been underway in 12 states since October to rectify voter lists, is being expedited in West Bengal “just two months before the elections” to benefit the BJP. She also claimed that officers from Delhi had been sent to influence district magistrates.`
Responding to her remarks, Amit Shah accused Mamata of attempting to “protect infiltrators.” In a post on X, he stated that SIR is essential to “save democracy from being polluted” and suggested opposition to it arises from reliance on votes of illegal entrants.
In a separate address, Mamata condemned a recent assault on two non-vegetarian vendors during a Gita recitation event at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground on December 7. She stated that all accused had been arrested and emphasized that “hooliganism will not be tolerated in Bengal.” Police confirmed the arrest of three individuals—Soumik Goldar (23), Swarnendu Chakraborty (32), and Tarun Bhattacharya (51)—based on video evidence. Mamata also criticized the BJP for allegedly spreading communal divisions, urging that religion should unite rather than divide.
The remarks by Mamata signal heightened political tensions in West Bengal as the state prepares for the upcoming Assembly elections, with the SIR exercise becoming a central point of contention between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
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