BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday claimed that “more than 50 lakh infiltrators” had been removed from West Bengal’s voter list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), asserting that “time is up for illegal immigrants” in the state.
Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar while flagging off the party’s ‘Poriborton Yatra’, Nabin alleged that those deleted from the electoral rolls had been availing government jobs and welfare benefits meant for genuine citizens.
“More than 50 lakh infiltrators have been removed from the voter list. These infiltrators were not only violating the rights of legitimate citizens, but also jeopardising the security of the country,” he said.
His remarks came a day after the Election Commission published the post-SIR electoral rolls, which recorded the deletion of 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, since the revision exercise began in November last year.
According to official data, the voter base has come down from 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore following the 116-day statewide exercise, the first intensive revision since 2002.
Nabin accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of shielding illegal migrants for political gain.
“Mamata Banerjee rushed to the courts to protect infiltrators in the voter rolls, as they are her party's vote bank. For the sake of these infiltrators, you even approach the courts at midnight. Yet, when women face humiliation, you choose to look the other way,” he said, targeting the ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Also read: Bengal SIR: 66 lakh struck off, 60 lakh under scrutiny
“Our message to the infiltrators is that the time has now come to drive them out from the soil of Bengal. We must not only drive out infiltrators, but also establish a decisive government that can connect the people here with development,” he added.
The BJP chief also alleged that several central welfare schemes were not being implemented properly in the state.
“Those schemes that Mamata Didi treats with stepmotherly behaviour in implementing here, we will implement them here, come what may,” he said.
Invoking the slogan ‘Maa, Mati, Manush’, Nabin questioned whether the promise of “Sonar Bangla” had materialised.
“Mamata Didi, is this the dream of Sonar Bangla that you had shown, where there is only corruption, anarchy and exploitation of the people? The youth who were supposed to see an IT hub are now witnessing thuggery. Where there was supposed to be development, it has become a hub of scams,” he said.
The BJP’s ‘Poriborton Yatra’, which Nabin said would span over 5,000 km, is aimed at reaching every household ahead of the Assembly polls.
“Where only promises and arrogance had reached so far, the BJP is arriving with the voice of change. These changes are not merely about altering the system, but about transforming the mindset. With positive thinking, we will sow the seeds of a new Bengal and realise the dream of a developed state,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than 60.06 lakh electors have been placed under the “under adjudication” category, with their eligibility subject to judicial scrutiny in the coming weeks, a process that could further alter constituency-level equations.
While the BJP described the deletions as a corrective step to weed out “infiltrators”, the ruling TMC has maintained that the exercise risks disenfranchising genuine voters and has accused the saffron party of attempting to polarise the electorate ahead of the Assembly elections.
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