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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is set to lead a massive rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, November 4, in protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has termed the SIR process “a tool to instill fear among genuine voters.” Interestingly, the rally will take place on the very day the first phase of the SIR exercise begins across the state.
Rally Route and Schedule
According to party sources, the anti-SIR rally will begin at 2:30 p.m. near Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statue on Red Road in central Kolkata and culminate in Jorasanko, in front of the ancestral house of Rabindranath Tagore in north Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, TMC General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, will jointly lead the march, which aims to “defend the democratic rights of Bengal’s voters.”
TMC Accuses BJP of Creating Fear
A state cabinet minister alleged that the BJP is using the SIR process to “intimidate voters” ahead of elections. “Two people have reportedly died by suicide and one has attempted to kill himself fearing the removal of their names from the voter list,” the minister said, accusing the BJP of spreading panic under the guise of voter list revision.
The TMC leadership insists that the revision must not result in the exclusion of any genuine voter. “The BJP’s hidden agenda is to manipulate the rolls for political gain,” said a senior party spokesperson.
BJP to Hold Counter Rally
Meanwhile, in a show of counterforce, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari will lead a BJP rally in Panihati, North 24 Parganas, on the same day. The BJP rally will aim to “expose the misinformation campaign” allegedly being run by the Trinamool Congress regarding the voter list revision.
A BJP leader said, “The TMC is spreading fear and confusion about a routine electoral process. The SIR is a transparent and necessary exercise to ensure fair elections.”
Suicide Case Sparks Political Row
The protests come days after Pradip Kar (57), a resident of Panihati, allegedly died by suicide over fears related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). While TMC has cited his death as proof of “public anxiety caused by the SIR process,” the BJP has refuted the claim, accusing the ruling party of “politicizing a personal tragedy.”
As both major political forces prepare for their dueling rallies on Tuesday, Kolkata is expected to witness a charged political atmosphere — with the voter list controversy emerging as the latest flashpoint in Bengal’s volatile politics.
— Reported by SD News Bureau, Kolkata
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