NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she “loves Bangladesh as a country, because their language is same,” before training guns at the BJP-led central government and the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, warning that the exercise must not be rushed ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.Addressing an anti-SIR rally in Bongaon, the chief minister told the crowd, “If your name gets deleted, the central government should also be deleted.” Referring to claims that the aim of the SIR is to remove Bangladeshi nationals from the voter list, she asked why the exercise was being conducted in several BJP-ruled states as well and questioned the purpose behind the revision.“I love Bangladesh as a country, because our language is the same. I am from Birbhum, but one day they will call me Bangladeshi. PM Modi got votes in 2024 as per the same list. If your name gets deleted, the central government should also be deleted. Why conducting SIR in such a hurry?” she said.“Till I am here, I will not allow them to throw you out. Nobody can throw you out. If Bangladeshi is a problem, then why are you conducting SIR in Madhya Pradesh and UP?” she asked.She asserted that she has no fear of the ruling party, declaring, “BJP cannot fight and defeat me politically,” and accused the Center of using the SIR exercise to target voters.Further indicating conditional support for the revision, Banerjee said, “If SIR is conducted over two-three years, we will support the exercise with every possible resource.” The chief minister accused the Election Commission of losing its neutrality, stating that the “EC is no longer an impartial body, it has turned into a ‘BJP Commission’.” She claimed that people would realize the “disaster” caused by the EC and BJP once the draft voter list is published after the SIR. “Does conducting SIR in BJP-ruled states imply the Center accepts ‘ghuspaithiyas’ exist there?” she asked.These remarks come as the Election Commission has begun the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision across 12 states and Union Territories. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on February 7, 2026. The first phase was carried out in Bihar before its Assembly elections.The current phase covers Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
