Why SIR Has Sparked Backdoor NRC Fear Within Trinamool Congress?

Mamata Banerjee criticizes the ECI's SIR, calling it an NRC "backdoor" attempt targeting Bengal after Bihar. She vows a "Gherao movement" against the electoral roll revision, while the BJP dismisses her concerns as "drama."

Image: ANI

Amid the controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, the first phase of the voter list revision process has concluded. The Election Commission of India (ECI) released data stating that more than 7.24 crore electors, out of a total of 7.89 crore, submitted their enumeration forms. The data shows that 65 lakh voters will not figure in the state’s new draft electoral rolls.

This extensive campaign, launched mere months before the critical Bihar assembly elections, sought to achieve "No Elector Left Behind." Its primary focus was on engaging first-time voters, urban residents, migrant workers, and susceptible demographics, including the elderly and individuals with disabilities.

Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly criticised the ECI's recent SIR of electoral rolls and claimed that it is "selective targeting" and an attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) "through the back door."

Her allegations come after the ECI released data from West Bengal's 2002 SIR electoral roll, prompting Banerjee to question, "After Bihar, and now you want to do the same in Bengal?" She has declared that her party will launch a "Gherao movement" to protest and rectify what she perceives as an unfair process.

"We will not let this new law stand. We will fight, we will change it, we will not accept it", Banerjee said.

What Is NRC

NRC stands for National Register of Citizens, which means a register intended to contain the names of all genuine Indian citizens. Its purpose is to identify and document legal citizens, thereby distinguishing them from illegal immigrants. Firstly, it was prepared in 1951, and it has only been updated in Assam so far.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has consistently opposed the NRC.

Yes, the SIR of electoral rolls in India is likely to affect illegal foreign migrants, particularly if they have managed to get their names included in voter lists.

India shares a 2,216-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh. Of this, 450 kilometres still remain unfenced, a situation attributed to the lenient approach of the West Bengal government towards infiltrators, as per the official release. As West Bengal shares a border with Bangladesh, thousands of illegal migrants enter the country. While official numbers are not available, the government has begun deportation efforts.

Reacting to the recent Bengal CM statement, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata is doing "drama" to stop Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.