Earthquake or SIR Tremors? BJP Targets Mamata as Earthquake Trembles Kolkata

Strong tremors originating from a moderate earthquake in neighbouring Bangladesh jolted Kolkata and several districts of West Bengal on Friday morning, sending residents rushing out of high-rise buildings in panic. Within minutes of the seismic event, the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party seized the moment to launch a stinging political attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sarcastically questioning whether the shaking was actually caused by the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a widely circulated social media post, the state BJP unit wrote: “West Bengal just felt earthquake tremors. Mamata Banerjee, was it because of SIR?” The taunt directly referenced Banerjee’s repeated descriptions of the Election Commission’s voter list purification drive as “chaotic, coercive and dangerous,” escalating the already bitter war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition over the revision exercise that has dominated state politics for weeks.

The Chief Minister had escalated the confrontation on Thursday by addressing a scathing four-page letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding immediate suspension of the SIR process. Describing the situation as having reached a “deeply alarming stage,” she accused the Election Commission of imposing the exercise without adequate preparation, proper training of booth-level officers, or consideration for citizens’ daily livelihoods, warning that continuation on the present path would cause “irreversible” damage to both the electoral system and public trust.

Also Read: 5.7-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Central Bangladesh, Tremors Felt Across Kolkata

Banerjee’s letter highlighted multiple operational failures: confusion over mandatory documents, inability of overworked BLOs to meet voters, and what she termed a climate of fear that had allegedly driven dozens to extreme distress. The Trinamool Congress claims at least 30 individuals, including two booth-level officers, have died either by suicide or cardiac arrest in recent weeks owing to anxiety over possible deletion from voter lists or unbearable work pressure, figures the BJP has dismissed as exaggerated propaganda.

The BJP, in turn, has accused Mamata Banerjee of orchestrating a high-voltage drama to derail a legitimate cleansing of electoral rolls, alleging that her opposition stems from apprehension that the removal of bogus and duplicate voters will erode Trinamool’s traditional vote bank ahead of future elections. As the war of narratives intensifies, Friday’s earthquake provided the opposition its sharpest metaphorical ammunition yet, turning a natural tremor into a potent political earthquake aimed directly at Writers’ Building.

Also Read: Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake Jolts Pakistan Before Dawn; No Major Damage Reported