West Bengal, 17 April (H.S.): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday accused the ruling All India Trinamool Congress of conspiring to include infiltrators in the electoral rolls.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Fadnavis said that while individuals whose names were removed from the voter list for valid reasons did not raise objections, the Trinamool Congress has been consistently opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

He stated that there are constitutional provisions for grievance redressal under the SIR process. If any person’s name has been wrongly deleted, they can seek legal remedies and file an appeal. “Those whose names were removed for valid reasons have not objected. Why is only the Trinamool Congress opposing it?” he questioned. He also noted that while the Supreme Court made certain observations, it did not stay the process, yet the TMC attempted to halt it.

Fadnavis emphasized that such revisions should be conducted every ten years to remove the names of deceased, shifted, or unauthorized voters. He alleged that the ruling party is opposing the exercise to gain undue advantage in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Rejecting TMC’s allegations of attacks on Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, Fadnavis said the issue needs investigation. However, he questioned why people from West Bengal are compelled to migrate to other states for employment.

“If people from Bengal have to leave the state for all kinds of jobs, the state government should be ashamed. It reflects a failure of governance,” he said, adding that he was referring to employment across all levels, not just high-profile jobs.

The Chief Minister also highlighted that cities like Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur have a significant Bengali population, where festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja are celebrated with great grandeur, often matching the scale seen in Kolkata.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey