Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday launched a fierce attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India Gyanesh Kumar for acting under the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and warned him of consequences when the BJP Government would go out of power in the Centre.
Banerjee, who is also the nephew of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also slammed Shah for targeting the Bengal Government for infiltration but refusing to take note of the failure of Border Security Forces, which were primarily responsible for checking infiltrations. Shah should be ashamed of his performance and resign for his failure to check infiltration not only in the eastern borders but also in the Pahalgam attack, which he was duty-bound to prevent.
The junior Banerjee’s no-holds-barred attack came a day after the CEC officially declared the commencement of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bengal and some other States. Saying that his party led by Mamata Banerjee, would not allow a single name to be deleted he warned the CEC, “If even a single name is deleted from the voters’ list, then I will lead one lakh people to Delhi.”
“I wonder whether Gyanesh Kumar has any inkling of Bengal’s history and its contribution to the freedom struggle. Bengal will not submit to the landlords of Delhi. If he is working at the instance of the BJP, then he should remember that the BJP and Amit Shah will go one day, but the Constitution of India will remain,” the junior Banerjee said, warning, “Gyanesh ji will not be allowed to flee India after there is a change in Delhi. We will dig him out from wherever he will hide.”
Wondering why Assam was “cleverly left out from SIR,” though it was one of the States that shared international borders with Bangladesh and had a history of infiltration, Banerjee said the CEC’s style of functioning only proved that “he is working at the instance of Amit Shah. He is making the ECI work like an organ of the BJP.”
The ECI was implementing the BJP’s National Register for Citizens (NRC) agenda indirectly via SIR after it failed to do so directly earlier, Banerjee alleged, saying, however, that “forcing SIR in Bengal only strengthens our resolve to reduce the BJP’s seat below 50.” In 2021, the saffron outfit won 77 seats. Banerjee’s attack comes on a day when a man called Pradip Kar allegedly committed suicide due to his fear of the NRC and SIR.
Launching a stinging attack on the Shah too, the junior Banerjee said that the Home Minister should “die of shame for failing to stop infiltration despite being in power for the past eleven years.”
He said, “The Border Security Force controlled by Amit Shah’s ministry is responsible for securing the borders, and if infiltration continues unabated, then it is his shame. He will explain how the terrorists crossed over to Kashmir and travelled as far as Pahalgam to kill 26 of our citizens. Is it not a shame for Shah? He should die of that shame.”
Alleging that the Centre was always rewarding “yes men like the chief of the IB who had been given an extension despite his failure in Kashmir,” Banerjee said, “this has been the pattern for the BJP. They reward yes men irrespective of their failures like the IB chief. They reward put Hemant Biswa Sharma, Ajit Pawar in washing machines despite charges against them and harass the innocent.”
Hitting back at Banerjee, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar urged the ECI to take cognisance of the threats being issued by him. “I am sure the CEC will take cognisance of it and will get an FIR registered against him in Delhi. This open threat from the TMC leadership only proves how dangerous the family, particularly the nephews of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, are for the safety and security of the people of Bengal,” he said.
Adding Banerjee’s fears only confirms his party’s culpability in infiltration and fake voters that helped him win from Diamond Harbour seat by a margin of 7.5 lakh votes in 2024.