BJP accuses Mamata Banerjee’s anti-SIR protest of trying to ‘protect illegal infiltrators’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of using the anti–Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protest in Kolkata to protect alleged illegal infiltrators included in the state’s voter list. The protest, led by the Trinamool Congress leadership, began on Friday afternoon at Esplanade East in central Kolkata and has been described as an indefinite demonstration.

According to the BJP, there has been no clarity on how long the protest will continue. However, considering the scale of the stage and the arrangements made at the venue, party leaders believe the programme may go on for an extended period.

Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, criticised the demonstration in a statement posted on his official social media account on Saturday morning. “Yesterday in Dharmatala, in the presence of Mamata Banerjee, a drama was staged to protect illegal infiltrators,” he said.

Adhikari also referred to an incident involving alleged victims of the multi-crore ‘cash-for-school-job’ scam who approached the protest stage with their demands. According to him, when deprived assistant teachers came forward seeking justice, they were instead accused of acting at the behest of the BJP and were asked to show their posters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Questioning the response, Adhikari said people in the state should have the right to raise legitimate demands without being labelled as agents of any political party. He added that the people of West Bengal are observing the situation closely and will respond to the ruling party at the appropriate time.