Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has cautioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Home Minister Amit Shah lest he turns a conspirator.
Speaking about the alleged possibilities of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being manipulated at the instance of the BJP leadership, Banerjee said, “Amit Shah ji has been conducting himself like an acting Prime Minister. I warn Narendra Modi ji about this. If he does not control him now, then one day he will regret as by then he (Shah) will turn out to be the biggest Mir Zafar for him.”
Mir Zafar was the Commander-in-Chief of 18th 18th-century Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah of Bengal, who had betrayed him in the Battle of Plassey, causing the Nawab to lose the battle against the British in 1757.
Banerjee spoke on Wednesday about the practicability of conducting SIR after her return from the flood-ravaged North Bengal districts. Apparently referring to earlier statements by Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and Union Minister Shantanu Thakur, who had said that more than 1 crore names would be deleted from the voters’ lists in Bengal, the Chief Minister said “all these games are being played at the behest of Amit Shah.”
She said, “The BJP leaders are holding meetings and come here to say that lakhs of names would be deleted from the voters’ list of Bengal. Can the SIR be completed within a fortnight, and can fresh names be uploaded in that short period under the current circumstances when the State is reeling under natural calamity or passing through a festive season?”
All these were being done by the Election Commission of India, which was being manipulated by the BJP leadership, she said, adding the Prime Minister was aware of what was taking place. While saying so, she said that Modi should not rely too much on Shah or else he would soon turn out to be his “biggest Mir Zafar.”
Banerjee also said that no government lasts for eternity, and the BJP leaders should keep that in mind. “The BJP will not stay in power for eternity,” she said, adding, “I have seen many governments in my life, but I never came across this kind of arrogant and dictatorial regime.”
Meanwhile the ECI instructed the Bengal districts to complete the pre-SIR process, inside sources said adding the revision of electoral rolls could begin soon after October 15.