Kolkata/Jangipur: Hailing the Supreme Court’s order on SIR, CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she was grateful and that the order would stop “outsiders” from getting included in the state’s voters’ list by BJP.“Today, I am grateful. I pursued a case regarding the selective deletion of 1.2 crore names. I personally rushed to the Supreme Court. As a result of this, 22 lakh people have been retained in the list while 18 lakh have been removed. We must ensure that those wrongfully excluded appeal at the tribunal. We will bear the legal cost. I am happy with the SC verdict today. They (BJP) were forcefully adding names of people from outside Bengal. The SC has ordered that they can’t do it,” said Banerjee at an election rally in Birbhum’s Nanoor.“People will be brought in trains. These people have already voted in Bihar. Now they are filling forms to vote in Bengal. They will vote here and you will be stopped from voting,” said CM, adding, “In Bhowanipore, they have deleted so many names. Instructions of Delhi are being followed to selectively delete electors of specific communities.”At the day’s second rally in Murshidabad’s Jangipur, Banerjee chose to attack Congress for failing to protest against SIR. “Was Congress sleeping when deletions were taking place? I said many times, let’s all go to the commission together, but you (Congress) didn’t go,” she said. Appealing for peace in Jangipur, which saw clashes on Ram Navami, Banerjee said communal forces would try to “divide votes”. “I am sure that you will not let peace be disturbed... Some people will try to use communal rhetoric to split votes. Do not let even a single vote be divided,” she told the gathering.Saying that “BJP does not respect any religion”, the CM added: “They are saying that violence is rampant in Bengal. In reality, Bengal is a land of peace, unity and culture. They flaunted weapons in the Ram Navami procession in Suri. We too celebrate Ram Navami but we never do such things. We too were in opposition. But we never incited riots.”“Religion is meant to unite everyone, not to divide. Riots will affect everybody. This is BJP’s game. If they try to purchase your vote with money, remind them that they have snatched away your voting rights. Don’t get misled by propaganda. Hindus and Muslims should protect each other,” said Banerjee.Alleging that BJP, in collusion with EC, had used AI to delete voters, the CM said, “It’s time to derail them. They are humiliating you by asking you to prove your citizenship. Does speaking in Bengali make you an infiltrator? If infiltration has happened, Centre is responsible. Central forces control the borders.”In her third rally of the day, in Murshidabad’s Burwan, Banerjee said, “I have heard that women will be subjected to thorough checking on the day of the polls. If you have the guts, then touch them. They will give you a befitting reply. Why are you so afraid of women?”She also slammed Centre for increasing gas and auto fuel prices yet again. “They increased the price of gas by more than Rs 200 yesterday. Post-election, you will not receive gas. For a month, you may get kerosene. After that, you have to resort to primitive cooking methods,” said Banerjee.
