New Delhi [India], December 13 (ANI): Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji on Friday sought restraint while responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying that while public anger stems from unresolved doubts, incitement to violence is unacceptable.
“Until people’s doubts are cleared, their anger will continue to rage. But it’s not right to incite violence like this,” Maji said. She added that Banerjee may not have intended to stoke unrest. “Perhaps Didi also doesn’t want violence to spread. Maybe her statement was a slip of tongue… She feels that no genuine voter’s name should be deleted from the voter list,” the JMM MP said, framing concerns around the protection of legitimate voters as central to the debate.
Maji’s remarks come a day after Banerjee urged women in West Bengal to “lead the fight” against what she alleged were attempts to delete voters’ names through the SIR process, asking men to support them from behind. Addressing a gathering in Krishnanagar, Nadia district, the Chief Minister accused the BJP of trying to “take away” women’s rights and using Central forces to “terrify” them during elections.
“Through SIR, they want to take away the rights of women,” Banerjee said, asserting that women should demonstrate their strength against the BJP. She also alleged that district administrations were being pressured to remove up to 1.5 crore names from electoral rolls, warning that she would stage a sit-in protest if deletions were carried out “deliberately.”
The Trinamool Congress supremo further claimed that election officials were being intimidated and cautioned that the BJP would not remain in power indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday extended deadlines for the SIR process in five states and one Union Territory. As per the revised schedule, enumeration in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat will continue till December 14, with draft rolls due on December 19. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands will conclude enumeration on December 18, publishing draft rolls on December 23. Uttar Pradesh has been granted a 15-day extension, with enumeration ending December 26 and draft rolls to be published on December 31.
Earlier, the enumeration period for these states and UT was scheduled to end on December 11, with draft rolls on December 16. (ANI)
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