Attempt to conduct NRC in SIR’s name: Mamata Banerjee at Matua headquarters

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said “a terrible and dangerous situation” is likely to evolve after the Election Commission of India publishes the draft electoral rolls on December 9. “In the name of SIR, there is an attempt to bring in NRC,” she said, adding that after the elections, she would travel across the country.

Taking a calculated electoral plunge by addressing the Matuas, traditionally known to be BJP supporters, she said the latest SIR drive was an attempt to introduce NRC. To woo Matuas ahead of the 2026 assembly polls, Banerjee held an anti-SIR rally at the Matua headquarters of Bongaon on Tuesday. The Matuas have voted for BJP in the last few polls. This comes at a time when BJP and other Hindu organisations are going all out on a CAA application drive over the last few months.

Asking the Matuas not to get intimidated by SIR and vowing to stand by them, she cautioned that if the names of genuine voters were deleted, she would not spare anyone but make the whole country “shake and tremble”.
“If you are conducting SIR to remove infiltrators, why is SIR not conducted in Assam which is among the four poll-bound states? Why is there no SIR drama in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan?” Banerjee said.

“SIR was last conducted in 2002 and it took 2-3 years… The list cannot be finalised from the BJP office. The Election Commission’s work is to function impartially,” she asserted.