TMC Blames SIR Panic For Suicides, Accuses BJP of NRC Agenda

Trinamool Congress (TMC) intensified its criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, attributing two distressing incidents—a suicide and an attempted suicide—to public apprehension surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The controversy revolves around allegations that the SIR, initiated by the Election Commission to verify voter eligibility, is being perceived as a covert implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited the bereaved family of Pradeep Kar, a 57-year-old resident of Panihati in North 24 Parganas, who allegedly took his own life on Tuesday. Authorities recovered a suicide note expressing anxiety over documentation requirements linked to SIR and NRC, prompting Banerjee to hold Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar accountable for creating an atmosphere of panic.

Banerjee issued a stern directive to party supporters, instructing them to detain local BJP leaders by tying them to trees or lamp posts if they demanded birth certificates from citizens' parents. He emphasized that such actions should remain non-violent, aimed solely at compelling the leaders to produce their own familial documents as proof of consistency. Accompanied by TMC MPs Partha Bhowmick and Nirmal Ghosh, along with youth leader Debraj Chakraborty, Banerjee underscored the handwritten note's contents as evidence of widespread distress. The TMC has framed the SIR—recently concluded in Bihar with the removal of over 45 lakh ineligible voters and now extended to 12 states including West Bengal—as a mechanism to disenfranchise vulnerable populations under the guise of electoral purification.

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The situation worsened with the reported suicide attempt by 63-year-old Khairul Sheikh in Cooch Behar's Dinhata area on Wednesday, who allegedly ingested poison due to concerns over inaccuracies in his 2002 voter list entry. Currently receiving treatment at Cooch Behar district hospital, Sheikh's case has been cited by TMC as further proof of SIR-induced trauma, particularly among residents of former enclaves fearing exclusion from citizenship rolls. Party leaders, including Partha Pratim Roy, condemned the BJP's approach as divisive, warning of escalating human costs. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reiterated these concerns, accusing the central government of employing fear tactics through NRC rhetoric, while the TMC's official statement on social media directly challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the mounting tragedies.

The BJP, through Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, rejected any linkage between Kar's death and SIR or NRC, noting that the deceased was enrolled in the 2002 electoral rolls and had voted in subsequent elections. Adhikari described the TMC's narrative as a fabricated and insensitive exploitation of personal misfortune for political advantage, asserting that preliminary police findings indicated depression unrelated to voter revision. Local BJP representatives defended SIR as a standard procedural measure to maintain electoral integrity, dismissing opposition claims as unfounded attempts to distort administrative routines.

With both parties announcing competing rallies in Panihati—TMC seeking justice for Kar and BJP planning a counter-demonstration on November 4—the episode highlights deepening polarization over electoral reforms. Police investigations continue into the incidents, amid broader opposition assertions that SIR represents a backdoor NRC strategy. As West Bengal approaches elections, this dispute underscores critical tensions between ensuring voter list accuracy and safeguarding public confidence in democratic processes.

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