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'Tie Up BJP Leaders': Abhishek Banerjee's Remarks On Bengal Man's Suicide Over NRC Spark Row
Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday sparked a fresh political storm after he urged people to “tie up" local BJP leaders if they asked for their parents' birth certificates during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls or for National Register of Citizens (NRC) verification.
His remarks after Pradeep Kar, 57, a resident of Mahajati Nagar in Agarpara, allegedly died by suicide in panic over the NRC verification. Police said a diary was recovered from beside the body, where he reportedly wrote, “NRC is responsible for my death."
Linking Kar's death to the SIR, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that the anxiety created by the BJP and the Election Commission had driven the man to take the extreme step and accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of creating a “climate of panic".
After meeting the deceased's family, Abhishek said, “Next time local BJP leaders come to your area, stop them and ask them to furnish their parents' certificates. Tie them to a tree or lamp post and tell them they won't be released until they produce their parents' and grandparents' documents."
“We do not believe in violence. Don't hit them, just tie them up if they ask for your parents' birth certificates," he said, calling for an FIR against Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The BJP responded furiously to Abhishek Banerjee's remarks, asserting that the SIR exercise will take place in West Bengal regardless of what happens. “They can do protests, they can go to Mars or Antarctica, they can do anything. No matter what they do, SIR will happen," said Bengal BJP President Samik Bhattacharya.
“To stop SIR from happening will amount to a violation of the principles of the Constitution. When that happens, the Constitution will do what it needs to do. It is a routine procedure and it will take place across the country," he added.
This came after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also accused the BJP of spreading fear and division through its NRC campaign. She said that the tragedy reflected how the BJP's “venomous propaganda" had pushed ordinary people to despair.
BJP IT chief Amit Malviya accused her of ‘lying and deliberately spreading panic' to stoke fear for political gain. “It was the TMC, not the BJP, that weaponised fear — exploiting the anxieties of poor Hindu refugees who fled religious persecution and sought shelter in India. The same fear was used to loot, assault, and suppress voices, as seen in Sandeshkhali and during the riots in Malda and Murshidabad," he said.
On Monday (October 27), the EC announced that it will conduct the second phase of the SIR in 12 states and union territories. In this pan-India exercise, three states and one UT – Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry – will go to polls next year, while three states – Goa, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh – will have elections in 2027.
The TMC has labelled the SIR as “NRC in disguise" and an attempt to “manipulate voter lists under the pretext of identifying illegal infiltrators." The debate has brought back Bengal's recurring anxieties over voter identity and citizenship, shaped by its protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and NRC.
(with inputs from agencies)
Source: News18
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