"No Matua or Rajvanshi will be deported”: Abhishek calls for protest against SIR in Delhi

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on the central government and the Election Commission from a protest stage at Jorasanko, declaring a nationwide movement against the SIR process. Addressing party workers and religious leaders, he thanked them for turning out in large numbers for the rally, which he said was organised on just a two-day notice.

“If such a huge rally can happen with only two days of preparation, imagine what we can do in Delhi with two months of planning,” Banerjee said, calling upon Trinamool supporters to prepare for a large-scale protest in the national capital within the next two months.

He accused the Election Commission of turning a blind eye to the public distress caused by the SIR, claiming that people are “terrified and even committing suicide” while officials remain indifferent. “If people’s right to vote is taken away, we will sacrifice our lives in this movement but will not surrender,” he asserted.

Banerjee also hit out at the Centre over the 100-day rural employment scheme funds issue, saying, “Despite using all their machinery, the central government lost the case in the Supreme Court.” Reiterating his party’s commitment to the Matua and Rajbanshi communities, he said, “The Centre will not be able to send a single person from these communities to Bangladesh. Trinamool stands firmly with them.”