The Bengal BJP, led by the leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, said on Saturday that he would take to the streets from next month demanding a Rohingya-free Bengal in a bid to counter Trinamool’s “Bangla-Bangali” narrative in the run-up to next year’s Assembly elections.
“As the leader of the Opposition, I, along with party workers and the people of Bengal, will take to the streets from August 17. Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee gifted this homeland to Bengali Hindus, and we will protect it,” Adhikari said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has mobilised her party’s rank and file to flag the BJP’s alleged anti-Bengali narrative by highlighting the “atrocities” on Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. As a counter, the BJP is accusing Mamata of protecting the Rohingya and Bangladeshi Muslims in Bengal as her “vote bank”.
At the July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally, Mamata instructed her party to organise protests and political events in each of the state’s 341 blocks to highlight the alleged atrocities against Bengalis in BJP-ruled states.
A BJP source said Adhikari’s counter-narrative focused on the alleged protection of the Rohingya by the ruling party.
BJP insiders added that the party had been demanding a special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll to delete names of illegal voters in Bengal on the lines of the exercise in poll-bound Bihar.
Adhikari claimed that if an SIR was conducted in Bengal, over 1.25 crore names of false voters could be weeded out.
“If 50 lakh names of false and fake voters have been deleted from the electoral roll in Bihar, the number in Bengal will be 1.25 crore,” he said.
However, Adhikari said all Indian Muslims and Hindus would be protected under
the SIR.
“I can assure all Hindus, Indian Muslims and those who came from Bangladesh following religious persecution that they will face no issues. If Modiji is at the top as the guarantor, the leader of the Opposition is also a small guarantor here,” said Adhikari, who had earlier claimed that there are 17 lakh Rohingya in Bengal.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh mocked Adhikari over his “guarantee,” saying: “How can he guarantee anything when no one even knows which party he’ll be in next year? Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states have been facing atrocities, and that is why Mamata Banerjee has called for protests. The BJP is trying to divert attention from the actual accusations.”
Mamata had questioned Adhikari’s claim about 17 lakh Rohingya in Bengal, wondering how such a number could exist in Bengal when the community’s estimated global population was some 20 lakh.
“You should study before making such statements. Where did you get 17 lakh from? There may be people from Myanmar, but does that mean everyone is a Rohingya?” Mamata asked at her July 21 rally.
Training for BLOs
On Monday, the Election Commission began special training for booth-level officers (BLOs) in Bengal. BLOs and supervisors from various south Bengal districts were trained in Calcutta. A source said officers were given an outline about the SIR process.
However, CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal said no order for an SIR in Bengal had been issued so far.
