On a day when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led a protest march against alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday marched to the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata and demanded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll, which is currently being conducted in neighbouring poll-bound Bihar.
Addressing a press conference after meeting CEO Manoj Agarwal, Adhikari accused the ruling TMC of allowing “lakhs of Rohingya infiltrators” registered on the state’s voter list.
The BJP delegation also demanded an immediate “house-to-house search” to identify them. “Rohingyas from Myanmar are entering West Bengal via Nepal and Bangladesh borders, leading to a demographic shift, particularly in North and South 24 Parganas districts,” Adhikari claimed.
“We want a house-to-house search immediately. We want an SIR,” added the BJP MLA from Nandigram. He also urged the CEO to ensure transparent operations and said the CEO should ask for 50 per cent of state government and central government workers on deputation.
Adhikari’s allegations come in the wake of similar claims he made regarding Bihar’s voter list.
The BJP leader also described Mamata Banerjee’s protest march as a rally to “protect Rohingyas”.
“This rally was held to protect the Rohingyas… Mamata Banerjee is not worried about any change in the demography. She is only worried about the voters’ list. She is on the street because of a fear psychosis. Because she knows that if, after Bihar, the Election Commission starts a random survey, then names of approximately one crore Rohingya would be deleted from the voters’ list,” the BJP leader claimed.
On the TMC’s charge that the issue of illegal migrants entering the country falls in the domain of the BJP government at the Centre since the borders are manned by Border Security Force (BSF), Adhikari said: “Mamata Banerjee has sent her Krishnanagar MP (Mahua Moitra) to the Supreme Court (against the SIR in Bihar). The chief minister says it is the responsibility of the BSF. Why didn’t you give land to the BSF?”
Adhikari also cited the recent suspension of a government official from Kakdwip sub-division in South 24 Parganas over alleged discrepancy in the voters’ list, warning that any Booth Level Officer (BLO) colluding with the TMC would face similar consequences.