West Bengal Government Openly Facilitated Infiltration, Claims Amit Shah
Amit Shah says SIR targets infiltrators; blames West Bengal government, promises BJP will form multiple state governments.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, alleging that West Bengal is the only state raising complaints because its government has facilitated “infiltration” and seeks to create an excuse ahead of upcoming elections. Speaking at the Times Now Summit, he criticized Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asserting that she was inciting citizens to resist officials conducting the SIR exercise.
Shah said that while the SIR is ongoing in three opposition-ruled states—West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala—complaints are coming exclusively from Bengal. “If the complaint is coming from only one state, then it is clear that the problem is not of the SIR process but those who are ruling the state,” he said. He added that the process aims to remove illegal voters who have altered the demographic balance, and that the highest number of deletions would naturally occur in states where citizenship was granted to the largest number of infiltrators.
The Home Minister maintained that West Bengal’s alleged facilitation of infiltration represents a security threat not only to the state but to the entire country. “We will remove each and every ‘ghuspaithiya’ (infiltrator), not only from the voter list but also from the country,” Shah asserted. He also questioned Banerjee’s recent visit to the offices of political consultancy I-PAC during an Enforcement Directorate raid, implying that her actions were politically motivated.
Addressing the deployment of paramilitary forces during the assembly elections, Shah explained that previous multi-phase elections in Bengal allowed personnel to be redeployed across regions, requiring fewer forces. He projected confidence that the BJP would form the next government in West Bengal, promising implementation of the seventh pay commission and an increase in the age eligibility for government jobs to benefit youth affected by past corruption.
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Shah also commented on political developments in other states. In Assam, he endorsed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s allegations against Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi regarding Pakistan links, and predicted the BJP would secure over 90 seats in the state. In Tamil Nadu, he reaffirmed the party’s alliance with AIADMK, dismissing outreach to actor-politician Vijay, and citing anti-incumbency against the ruling DMK as a favorable factor for the BJP.
Shah’s remarks come amid heightened political tensions in West Bengal, as the BJP intensifies its campaign ahead of assembly elections. The Home Minister framed the SIR exercise as a national security imperative, while linking opposition criticism to political maneuvering rather than procedural concerns.
