West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that three to four people are dying by suicide every day in the state due to anxiety linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Addressing a public event marking the birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose at Red Road, Banerjee alleged that the cumulative death toll connected to stress over the exercise has crossed 110.

The Chief Minister asserted that the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP-led central government should take responsibility for the alleged deaths. She claimed that dozens more individuals were hospitalised due to stress and fear arising from the verification process. “After all these years, we are being asked to prove whether we are citizens of this country,” Banerjee said, describing the situation as an assault on democratic rights.

Banerjee also criticised the scale of deletions and verifications under the SIR. According to official data, over 58 lakh voters were removed from the draft electoral rolls published in December after the initial phase of the revision. Additionally, the ECI has flagged around 1.66 crore voters out of the state’s 7.6 crore electorate for hearings to re-verify their documents, citing concerns over genuineness.

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Referring to variations in the spelling of Bengali surnames, Banerjee said such discrepancies were being unfairly used to issue notices. She claimed that about 1.38 crore people had received notices due to mismatches, noting that even her own surname is spelt differently as Banerjee and Bandopadhyay. She also alleged that elderly citizens were being summoned for hearings and questioned why noted economist Amartya Sen had been served a notice.

Targeting the BJP, Banerjee accused the party of conspiring against Bengal and insulting national icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose, B R Ambedkar and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. She further criticised the abolition of the Planning Commission, which she said was envisioned by Bose, and its replacement with the NITI Aayog.

Concluding her address, Banerjee alleged attempts to distort India’s history and culture, accused BJP leaders of superficial outreach to Bengali voters during elections, and drew a parallel between the current political struggle and the Mahabharata’s battle between good and evil. Invoking Bose’s slogan “Dilli Chalo”, she said it must be raised again to “re-establish humanity”.

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