Page 8 - The Indian EYE 121225

EYE ON INDIA DECEMBER 12, 2025 | The Indian Eye 8

SIR POLITICAL FIRESTORM

Mamata, Opposition Warn of

‘Danger to Democracy’ as BJP Defends

Electoral Roll Overhaul

A routine electoral roll update has exploded into a national political flashpoint,
with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging deaths, discrimination and “detention

camp” fears even as the BJP calls the outrage manufactured

OUR BUREAU vulnerable communities.
The opposition claims SIR has
Murshidabad/Malda/New Delhi
created an atmosphere of fear among
hat began as the Election minorities and marginalised commu-
Commission’s Special In- nities, with many residents unsure
Wtensive Revision (SIR) of about required documents and con-
electoral rolls — normally an admin- cerned about possible deletions.
istrative exercise — has transformed The BJP maintains that the SIR
into one of the most polarising polit- is a standard EC process and that the
ical issues of the winter session. As controversy is politically engineered.
protests intensify across states, sharp BJP MP Dinesh Sharma accused
allegations, counter-allegations and opposition parties of acting with an
fears of disenfranchisement have “unsettled mindset.”
pushed the SIR into the centre of In- “They protest about CAA, vote
dia’s national discourse. theft, Waqf and electoral reforms.
West Bengal Chief Minister Today they come with SIR. Tomor-
Mamata Banerjee has launched the row another issue,” Sharma said.
fiercest attack yet, claiming that the “These misguided people should feel
SIR exercise has created panic in Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, DMK MP T. R. Baalu, and Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, regret for their defeat in Bihar rather
the state and caused “40 deaths,” with other Opposition MPs, protest against SIR in Parliament premises on the second day of than creating noise in Parliament.”
including cases of trauma and sui- Union Parliamentary Affairs
cide. Speaking in Murshidabad, she the winter session, in New Delhi (ANI Photo/Rahul Singh) Minister Kiren Rijiju attempted to
accused the BJP of weaponising the calm tensions, noting that the govern-
process months before crucial As- Bengal. BJP must listen carefully,” the timing and scale of the SIR raise ment has agreed to a parliamentary
sembly elections. she said. concerns about voter suppression. debate on December 9. However, he
“Just so the State government Her rhetoric sharpened in Mal- In Uttar Pradesh, senior Sam- clarified that SIR is “an administra-
could not function, SIR was declared da, where she reassured citizens: “No ajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Ya- tive matter of the Election Commis-
three months before the polls,” Ma- one is going to detention centres. I am dav called the SIR “unnecessary” sion,” not a government-led initiative.
mata said. “Why is SIR happening your pehradar.” She accused the Cen- and “a gimmick to stay in power.” “If we discuss reforms, the scope
only in states where BJP is not in tre of withholding funds from Bengal He warned that coming to power must be wider. You cannot isolate a
power — Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kera- and targeting Bengali speakers by through “gimmicks” could lead to single administrative decision taken
la? Why not in bordering states ruled labelling them “Bangladeshi.” “You consequences similar to those seen by the EC,” Rijiju said.
by the BJP?” have no right to call those who speak in Nepal and Bangladesh. The SIR controversy comes at
She announced an ex-gratia of Bangla Bangladeshis,” Mamata said. SP MP Awadhesh Prasad said a politically sensitive moment, with
`2 lakh for families of the deceased The TMC chief argued that the SIR threatens the right to vote, a fun- high-stakes elections approaching in
and `1 lakh for those hospitalised BJP was “digging its own grave” in damental legacy of Dr B.R. Ambed- Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. For
due to alleged stress caused by SIR Bengal. “You won Bihar but you can- kar. “The issue of SIR is burning. the opposition, the issue has become
notices. She also urged people to at- not win Bengal,” she declared. Through discussion and suggestions a rallying cry against alleged central
tend hearings and fill out forms prop- The Election Commission, from the opposition, democracy will overreach. For the BJP, it is a chance to
erly to avoid deletion from the rolls. meanwhile, is conducting SIR be saved,” he said. accuse opponents of fear-mongering
In a charged address, Mamata across 12 states and UTs ahead of In Parliament, the INDIA bloc and obstructing electoral transparency.
accused the BJP of trying to “drive the 2026 Assembly elections. The has staged daily protests since the As Parliament prepares for a full
out minorities, Matuas and Rajban- exercise involves door-to-door veri- winter session began, demanding a debate and political rhetoric intensi-
shis,” and warned that the SIR was fication to update voter lists, remove dedicated debate on SIR. Congress fies, the Special Intensive Revision
being used to “establish detention duplicates and ensure accuracy — a President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia has become more than a bureaucratic
camps” — a claim the BJP has dis- process the Commission insists is Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka update — it has ignited a wider fight
missed as fear-mongering. “No de- routine and necessary. Gandhi joined demonstrations, ar- over identity, citizenship, electoral
tention camp will be established in But opposition parties argue that guing that SIR risks disenfranchising fairness and the battle lines for 2026.

www.TheIndianEYE.com