Mamata Banerjee’s Eid speech targets BJP, flags voter list deletions in West Bengal

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday assured the minority community of her full support, using her Eid-ul-Fitr address to sharpen her attack on the BJP and reiterate her resolve to oust the party from the state.

Speaking at Red Road, Banerjee also raised concerns over alleged deletions of minority names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she questioned what she called a contradiction between his outreach abroad and domestic politics.

"Why does he forget these issues when he shakes hands in Saudi Arabia, but on returning home talks of deleting names from voter lists?" she said, alleging that certain communities were being targeted.


Banerjee accused the Prime Minister of being the "main force" behind the SIR exercise in Bengal. "He calls others infiltrators, but he is the biggest infiltrator," she said, linking the revision process to attempts at disenfranchisement.

Reacting sharply, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya accused the Chief Minister of politicising a religious occasion. He said her remarks reflected an "anti-refugee and anti-Indian culture" stance and added that foreign policy has traditionally been handled with bipartisan consensus.

Reaffirming her stand, Banerjee said she would continue her legal challenge against voter deletions. "I have taken this fight to the Supreme Court. I will not allow the BJP to snatch people's voting rights," she said.

Calling the BJP "a party of goons", she accused it of trying to polarise Bengal along religious lines. "West Bengal has a long tradition of communal harmony. Any attempt to divide people in the name of religion will be resisted," she said.

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also stressed unity, saying the state would reject divisive politics and uphold its tradition of inclusiveness.

TMC Announces First List of 17 Candidates for Assam

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday announced its first list of 17 candidates for the Assam Assembly elections.

Former Congress leader Dulu Ahmed will contest from Chamaria. Other nominees include Udangsri Narzary (Baokhungri), Mominur Islam (Bilasipara), Arif Akhtar Ahmed (Jaleswar), Kaushik Ranjan Das (Abhayapuri), Kalyani Kalita (Bajali), Bhoglal Rabha (Boko-Chaygaon), Bikash Nath Yogi (Palasbari), Amirul Islam (Barkhetri), Rajan Chouhan (Goreswar) and Hare Krishna Deka (Mangaldai).