Cooch Behar (West Bengal)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday claimed that the assembly elections in the state would be announced immediately after the publication of the final electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in February to prevent any legal challenge to the fresh voters’ list.

Addressing a public meeting at the Ras Mela ground here, Banerjee alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to instil fear among voters.

She also attacked the Centre over the alleged withholding of funds under the 100-day work scheme and tore up a note on stage listing what she described as “humiliating conditions” imposed by the Union government for resumption of payments.

“They will declare elections just after the final rolls of SIR are out in February, so that nobody gets the chance to challenge the rolls legally. It will be done so that elections are held based on that list,” Banerjee claimed.

The chief minister alleged that the Election Commission’s November 4 rollout of the SIR had created “widespread fear” among people, making them apprehensive that their names would be arbitrarily dropped from the voters’ list.

“Now we have to prove our citizenship? What greater shame can there be than this? People who have lived here for generations are being asked to prove who they are,” she said.

Stepping up her attack on the Centre, Banerjee accused the BJP-led government of running an “anarchic and autocratic” regime and claimed that the saffron party would "destroy the culture, language and heritage of Bengal" if it comes to power in the state.

She also alleged that had her government blocked the SIR process, the BJP-led dispensation at the Centre would have imposed President’s Rule in West Bengal.

“They were waiting for a chance. If we had stopped the SIR, President’s Rule would have been imposed here,” she claimed.

Banerjee said that despite orders of the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court, the Centre had not released the dues even after a year and had instead sent a letter placing several conditions on the implementation of the scheme.

“We do not accept these conditions. Bengal will run the 100-day work scheme on its own,” she declared, before tearing the note into pieces from the dais.

Claiming that funds under the rural employment scheme had been stopped for four years, Banerjee alleged that other welfare programmes, such as the rural housing and village road projects, had also been stalled by the Centre.

She said her government had launched an alternative scheme, ‘Karmashree’, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by providing work from the state exchequer and asserted that the programme had been successful.

“We don’t want alms from anyone. Bengal knows how to stand on its own feet,” the chief minister said.

Reading out from the note, Banerjee cited one condition that requires the labour department to submit quarterly labour budgets. “It is December now. Elections will be announced in February. When will we show all this?” she asked.

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She also alleged that another condition restricts the number of workers to 10 per gram sabha. “Does this ever happen? Even one family can have 10 poor people,” she said, adding that the Centre had also spoken about mandatory training for workers.

Holding up the paper, Banerjee said, “This has no value. It is a valueless paper. I consider this an insult and a humiliation,” before ripping it apart on the stage.