Won’t allow NRC implementation in Bengal: Mamata

PRASHANT ACHARYA

SILIGURI,: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the BJP of perpetrating atrocities on Adivasis from Jungle Mahal to Naxalbari, while addressing an election rally in the region.

Campaigning for TMC candidates Shankar Malakar (Matigara-Naxalbari) and Reena Ekka (Phansidewa), Mamata said she had long worked for the welfare of tribal communities and cited initiatives such as Birsa Munda College, Birsa and Sautali Academy and the Jai Johar scheme.

Referring to the political shift in Naxalbari from its ultra-left origins to a battleground between the TMC and the BJP, she alleged that the BJP was emerging as a “new terror” in the region, while asserting that she would not allow Maoist-style violence to return.

Mamata also urged tribal women to remain vigilant during the elections and guard polling booths and electronic voting machines to prevent alleged capture by “outsiders”.

She criticised the BJP over the alleged hardships faced by elderly people during the SIR process, claiming that many Adivasis were affected.

The Chief Minister alleged that around eight lakh names had been deleted from the first supplementary voter list under the SIR process and demanded that the Election Commission of India make hard copies of the lists available for public verification.

She also raised concerns about the lack of accessible records and said the accuracy of the exercise could only be confirmed after reviewing officially displayed documents.

Reiterating her stand, Mamata said she would not allow the implementation of the NRC or the setting up of detention camps in West Bengal as long as she remained in power.