SIR is a BJP plot to select voters, says TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ploy to select voters, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said on Tuesday (October 28, 2025).

“Earlier, people used to elect the government. Now, this BJP government wants to select who will vote or not,” Mr. Banerjee said, addressing a press conference at the Trinamool Congress party headquarters.

The TMC leader’s remarks came a day after after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the SIR of electoral rolls in 12 States, including West Bengal.

Not a single voter should be left out in the West Bengal SIR, Mr. Banerjee said. “If they dare to strike even a single legitimate voter’s name off Bengal’s list through the SIR, we will show what Bengal can do when democracy is challenged. And here’s the promise — even after the SIR, Trinamool’s seats will only rise,” Mr. Banerjee, considered the second-in-command in the party, said.

Why was the SIR only being carried out in West Bengal and not in any State bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar, when allegations of illegal infiltration had risen from Bangladesh and Myanmar, and why had the SIR not been announced for Assam or other northeastern States, he said.

“Five northeast States share borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Then why is the SIR being announced only in West Bengal, citing the presence of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas?” he said.

The Trinamool Congress leader also challenged the ECI’s timeline for the verification exercise. “In 2002, the SIR was held in Bengal over a span of two years. How will the ECI complete this mammoth task within one or two months?” he said.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were responsible for the death of Pradeep Kar, a resident of Panihati, allegedly from anxiety caused by the ongoing threat of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Mr. Banerjee said, adding that a First Information Report should be filed against them.