‘1 crore Rohingyas, Bangladeshi Muslims': Suvendu Adhikari calls for Bihar-like SIR in Bengal
Suvendu, while addressing reporters in Howrah, said the state's electoral rolls are riddled with deceased voters, duplicate entries and fake voters.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Suvendu called for immediate action by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and urged them to remove such illegal voters from the list.
"There are nearly one crore Rohingya immigrants, Bangladeshi Muslim voters, deceased voters, duplicate entries, and fake voters in West Bengal. The Election Commission of India should remove these names to ensure the credibility of the voter list," Adhikari said
Suvendu's remark come at a time when the BJP-led NDA government and the opposition INDIA bloc are locking horns over the Bihar SIR exercise.
The opposition claims that through this exercise, the NDA is trying to manipulate the voters' list ahead of the high-stakes Bihar assembly election.
BJP's 'shielding infiltrators' charge at Mamata Banerjee
Earlier, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya accused the TMC of "orchestrating a conspiracy" to include Bangladeshis in the state's electoral rolls, asserting that the ruling party was "hearing its death knell" as it shields infiltrators to preserve its vote bank.
Bhattacharya alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led government was misusing state machinery to protect illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the Rohingya community in order to manipulate electoral outcomes.
"From Barasat to Madhyamgram, fake voter cards have been issued to Bangladeshi nationals with the active involvement of local TMC leaders. BLOs (Booth Level Officers) are being threatened to ensure bogus names stay on the rolls," he said.
The Election Commission, however, has not yet officially responded to either of the claims.
Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' claim against ECI
Meanwhile, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made some explosive claims, saying he has "an atom bomb of evidence" that proves the poll body's alleged involvement in "vote theft" to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP," he said.
To this, the Election Commission of India refuted the claims and urged voters not to pay heed to such allegations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Surjewala hits out at Haryana govt over ‘steep hike' in collector rates
The Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday hit out at the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini-led government in Haryana over a 'steep hike' in collector rates for property registration, saying that this move will be a blow to the common man's dream of owning a house. Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala. (File) The state government has already dismissed as 'unfounded and misleading', the claims of a section of the Opposition leaders that the collector rates have been hiked by more than 130%. 'The arbitrary increase in collector rates twice in just eight months and without public consultation, logical reasoning, or defined parameters is a proof of the government's economic mismanagement and incompetence,' Surjewala said addressing a news conference here. 'In 2022, the BJP had promised 'a permanent home for all.' But today, even building a house with hard-earned money has become impossible. Now, by hiking collector rates further their dreams are being crushed.' The senior Congress leader alleged that there is a nexus between the government and the builders behind the sudden increase in the collector rate. He said that the state government had in this year's budget set a target of earning ₹16,555 crore from 'stamp duty and registration fees' as against ₹14,000 crore in the year 2024-25, adding it was now eyeing to earn a substantial amount from the hiked collector rates. He said the hiked collector rates will effectively increase stamp duties on registering sale deeds of immovable properties. 'An analysis of the last five years reveals that the government has increased collector rates by 50% to 250% for plots, houses, flats, commercial properties, shops, and agricultural land,' Surjewala claimed. He said that the burden on common people by hiking collector rates comes at a time when the prices of sand, gravel, bricks, cement, steel and other construction materials have already increased manifold in the last five years. 'Isn't this hike just a scheme to help BJP-affiliated soon as rates increase, builders jack up prices for ongoing projects. Who pockets the profits? What is the logic, criteria, or basis for these hikes?' he asked. Accusing the government of turning Haryana's cities into 'garbage dumps' with stray cattle, potholed roads, stinking waste piles, and overflowing drains, he asked: 'Why hike in collector rates when basic amenities are missing?'
Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Mamata Banerjee angered by Delhi police mention of ‘Bangladeshi language', BJP reacts
'Scandalous, insulting, anti‑national, and unconstitutional" is how Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee described an August 3 letter by the Delhi police that called Bengali, or Bangla, a 'Bangladeshi language'. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee at a function in Kolkata.(HT File Photo) The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader, sharing an image of the letter on X, emphasised that Bengali is sanctified by the Indian Constitution, and the mother tongue of icons like Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. The police had purportedly written to Banga Bhawan, West Bengal's state guest house in New Delhi, seeking assistance with translating documents written in 'Bangladeshi language' for eight individuals suspected of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. HT has not independently verified the authenticity of the letter, while police have not yet responded. The image shared by Banerjee showed that the letter, dated July 24, said police needed an interpreter 'proficient in Bangladeshi national language' for documents belonging to the eight persons 'strongly suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally in India'. TMC national general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded an apology from home minister Amit Shah, under whose ministry Delhi Police falls, for the way the letter was written. 'For months now, Bengali-speaking people have been targeted, harassed and detained across BJP-ruled states,' he added, and called the letter 'a shocking escalation' and an attempt to 'undermine Bengali identity' and "equate Indian Bengalis with foreigners'. Reacting to the allegations, Samik Bhattacharya, the West Bengal BJP chief, accused the TMC of resorting to 'fear-mongering tactics' for Indian Bengalis while 'shielding' illegal immigrants. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya reacted, too, accusing Mamata Banerjee of spreading misinformation for 'vote‑bank politics'. He called her X post 'a badly scripted political stunt'. Bengali artists were incensed by the notice too. "Bangla referred to as Bangladeshi language... Exactly the kind of ignorance I expect from the people responsible... Not surprised at all," wrote singer Surojit Chatterjee. "That's not Bangladeshi language… that's Bangla or Bengali," film director Srijit Mukherji posted on X, 'the same language in which your national anthem was originally written and one of the 22 official languages of India.'
Hindustan Times
14 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Haryana: Sirsa MP demands probe into tablet distribution ‘scam'
Senior Congress leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja on Sunday said that the truth of education system in Haryana under the BJP government has been fully exposed with 5 lakh e-tablets purchased during the post Covid-19 pandemic period turning into mere toys. Senior Congress leader and Sirsa MP Kumari Selja. (File) Demanding an 'impartial investigation' into what she called the 'tablet scam' and seeking strict action against the guilty officials, Selja said that every section of society is suffering due to the wrong policies of the BJP government. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Haryana government in 2022 implemented a ₹620 crore tablet-based digital learning programme called e-Adhigam. Over 5 lakh students of government schools of Class 10 and 12 were provided tablets loaded with PAL software and enabled with free internet services through data SIM cards. In a statement Selja said that these tablets internet access, are now non-functional and hanging indefinitely. 'No one knows when they will start working,' the Sirsa MP said, adding that though this scheme was launched during the tenure of then-chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the current government has completely derailed it. 'Instead of benefiting students, it has caused them more harm. The curriculum was only loaded for three years, and though the government planned to update the data, even that task was left incomplete,' she said, accusing the government of blindly implementing schemes by relying solely on officials and without assessing whether they are beneficial or harmful. She said that the academic session of April 2025–26 has already begun and tablets have not been distributed. 'They are probably lying in some corner and gathering dust.' The entire scheme of distributing computers, tablets, and Edusets without proper planning reeks of corruption, she said, demanding that if the tablets are faulty, they should be repaired and distributed to children along with SIM and internet facilities, as they were purchased keeping students' interests in mind. 'Or else, the government should openly admit that ₹700 crore has gone down the drain,' she said.
