'Let SIR Happen First, Then NRC Will Happen': WB BJP Leader Rahul Sinha Hits Back at Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rahul Sinha on Friday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), alleging that the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) is winning elections by "sheltering infiltrators from Bangladesh".

“Let the SIR happen first, and then the NRC will happen. CM, rest assured, the SIR is not being done to delete the names of genuine voters. You gave shelter to Muslim infiltrators from Bangladesh and added the names of Rohingya Muslims to the voter list, people who have died have been added to the voter list. This is the basis for your victory, and when the Election Commission interfered with this basis, you started shouting,” Sinha told ANI here.

Accusing CM Banerjee of "spreading confusion" over the electoral roll revision and the NRC, the BJP leader reiterated that the SIR is not deleting names of "genuine voters".

“The NRC law has been passed, and it will definitely happen... and it will happen in front of Mamata Banerjee; that's why Mamata Banerjee is spreading confusion,” he said.

The SIR will happen, and the purification of the voter list will happen, the BJP leader asserted.

Sinha's remarks come a day after the West Bengal Chief Minister alleged that the BJP is using the SIR as a pretext to implement NRC and remove names from the voter list.

"In the name of SIR, they are trying to place NRC and want to remove names from the voter list, I assure you no genuine voter will be unlisted," Mamata said.

She warned the BJP against escalating tensions through their policies, accusing them of provocative actions, saying, “I warned the BJP, don't play with fire.”

On October 6, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar informed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists throughout the country after announcing the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections. 

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