West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that fears surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists have led to at least 17 deaths across the state in two weeks. Speaking at an administrative meeting in North Bengal, Banerjee described the SIR exercise as a “super emergency” and demanded that it be stopped immediately. “You can cut my throat, but don’t cut the name of a single genuine voter,” she declared, accusing the ECI of aiding the BJP by removing legitimate voters from the rolls.

The Chief Minister alleged that government officials had been burdened with election-related duties, disrupting the functioning of state departments. “You have kept officials busy intentionally so that they can’t work for three months; this is a super emergency,” she said, calling the SIR a direct attack on democratic rights. The process, which began on November 4, is part of a nationwide voter list revision covering 12 states and Union territories, including politically crucial states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

Banerjee said the climate of fear created by the revision drive had caused distress and even deaths in various districts. “Why has the Election Commission not offered condolences for those who died due to fear of SIR?” she asked, holding the poll body accountable for alleged administrative negligence and public anxiety. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders have described the SIR as a covert attempt to implement a National Register of Citizens (NRC)-like exercise under a different name, a charge the BJP denies.

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Turning her ire toward Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mamata questioned the BJP’s selective targeting of states. “What happened to infiltrators in Bihar, where your party is in power?” she asked, demanding Shah’s resignation over what she called failures in handling internal security, border management, and paramilitary operations. “As a Home Minister first, you should resign,” she said. Her remarks hinted at a broader political confrontation ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The TMC has pledged to resist the SIR process both on the ground and at the national level. On November 4, the day the revision began, Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, led protest rallies in Kolkata, calling the exercise unconstitutional. Abhishek has since vowed to take the fight to Delhi, positioning the issue as another flashpoint in TMC’s ongoing tussle with the BJP-led Centre and the Election Commission. As tensions rise, the SIR controversy is fast emerging as the latest battleground in Bengal’s high-stakes political landscape.

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