West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the Union Government accusing them of subjecting Bengalis to “torture” and “atrocities”, hours ahead of her meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Banerjee said she was heading to Banga Bhavan, the West Bengal government’s guest house, to assess the situation on the ground and respond to what she described as police excesses targeting people from the state. Drawing a contrast with how Union leaders are treated in Bengal, she added, “When the Home Minister comes to Bengal, we give him the red carpet. But when we come to Delhi, you give us the black carpet.”
Urging restraint, the Chief Minister appealed to the authorities to stop what she called harassment of Bengali families. “Please restrain yourself from the atrocities, from the torture of the Bengal people who have lost their lives,” she said, claiming she had received information about the situation only moments earlier. “I just now got the information, and I didn’t even change my clothes.”
Banerjee later arrived at Banga Bhavan accompanied by Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The two leaders reviewed the situation and interacted with families of those who have reportedly died in connection with the SIR process, assuring them of support and telling them they had nothing to fear.
The Chief Minister was also seen questioning police personnel deployed at the premises, asking why they had allegedly conducted raids on rooms occupied by people staying at Banga Bhavan.
Her remarks come amid an escalating political confrontation over the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, which the Trinamool Congress has repeatedly alleged is biased, arbitrary, discriminatory and driven by political considerations.
Later in the day, Banerjee was scheduled to lead a 15-member Trinamool Congress delegation to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The delegation includes Abhishek Banerjee and several senior party leaders. Trinamool Congress noted that the meeting has been aimed to formally place on record their “grave concerns over the biased, arbitrary, discriminatory, and politically motivated conduct of SIR in Bengal.” The party added that it would press for “categorical demands” and seek immediate corrective steps, noting that its earlier representations to the Election Commission had gone unanswered.
The meeting follows a series of objections raised by Banerjee over the SIR exercise. A day earlier, Mamata Banerjee wrote her 6th letter directly to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the process had caused widespread hardship and significantly undermined public faith in democratic institutions.
