West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday accused the BJP of a conspiracy to exclude voters’ names from electoral rolls, reiterating her long-standing allegations. Speaking at a government service distribution programme in Ilambazar, Birbhum, she issued a direct order to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Anubrata Mondal and Kajal Sheikh to “hit the ground” and meticulously verify voter lists to ensure no genuine voter is omitted.
During the event, which included the inauguration of the Jaydev Bridge and other development projects, Banerjee broadened her address to cover a range of critical issues, from voter list integrity to alleged “torture” of people from Bengal and “deprivation” experienced by the state at the hands of the Centre.
She said, “In all the double-engine governments, that is BJP-ruled states, including Assam, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bengalis are being oppressed on the orders of the home ministry.” She attributed this alleged oppression to “talent and hard work” and said there is “no medicine for jealousy”.
“Those who work in those states have been working there for 20-25 years. They have all the legal documents. Despite this, they are being kept in detention camps and being taken to police stations,” She said, urging people working in other states to return to Bengal, offering state government assistance for their travel. “Let them return, we will take care of their travel expense too.”
Banerjee linked the alleged voter exclusion efforts to the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Everyone should register their names in the new voter list. The names of genuine people should not be left out. This is how the conspiracy to implement NRC is going on. It has happened in Assam and they are trying in Bengal, too. But as long as we live, we will not let NRC happen, we will stop it.”
She encouraged citizens whose names are omitted to protest and inform booth-level officers (BLOs), who assist the Election Commission in preparing and updating voters’ lists, emphasising that it is their “constitutional right”. The West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in 2026.
Banerjee specifically appealed to minorities working outside the state to ensure their names are registered in the voter list. Following her address, she instructed all district leaders, including Anubrata Mondal, Kajal Sheikh, and MP Shatabdi Roy, to maintain a vigilant eye on their respective areas concerning voter list updates.
She also alleged that the Centre was withholding funds meant for Bengal. “For five years, we ranked first in village road construction and similarly for the 100-day work scheme, so they stopped the money,” she said.
Banerjee accused the BJP of hypocrisy, questioning the deployment of Central commissions to Bengal for even “even at a lizard’s bite”, while according to her, similar commissions were absent when “girls and women are tortured and burnt alive in Odisha, Rajasthan, etc”.
She also provided an update on housing initiatives, saying that her government had already delivered 45 lakh permanent houses. She added that funds have been released this year for 12 lakh mud houses to be converted into permanent structures.
“By December, another 16 lakh mud houses will receive their first instalment for building permanent houses, and the second instalment will be released in May,” she said.