'Mamata protecting infiltrators for votes': BJP leader bats for SIR exercise in Bengal

Kolkata, Sep 3 Batting for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Sunil Bansal on Wednesday claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was "protecting" infiltrators for votes.

Speaking at an event in Kolkata on the 'One Nation, One Election' issue, the senior BJP leader said some political parties like Trinamool Congress support Bangladeshi infiltrators as long as they are in the country's voter list.

"We have been trying to remove Bangladeshi infiltrators from the country. But there are some political parties which are trying to protect the infiltrators. They want such people to remain in the country's voter list for vested interest," said Bansal.

The BJP leader said, "Recently, the central government, with the help of the Election Commission of India, conducted the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The Constitution of the country says only Indian citizens have the right to vote."

He also criticised Trinamool Congress, RJD and Congress for "supporting" infiltrators to gain political mileage in elections.

"There is an opportunity to throw these infiltrators out of the country, and the first step is to remove their names from the voters' list," he said.

Slamming Chief Minister Banerjee, he said that the moment the names of infiltrators are removed from the voters' list, she will be the first person to oppose them.

"Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav support them because they have the voting rights," he said.

There is speculation that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to conduct SIR of West Bengal electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 state Assembly polls.

Preparations for the exercise have already begun, said sources in the ECI.

However, the Chief Minister said that she won't allow the SIR exercise in Bengal.

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