Anti-SIR protests rise, Mamata says BJP plotting unrest
Kolkata: Just three weeks ahead of the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly election, protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls spread across several districts of the state on Thursday, April 2, with agitators blocking roads and highways over the deletion of names from poll lists.
Protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and held silent marches in Malda, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Purba Bardhaman, where voting will be held on April 23.
A day earlier, seven judicial officers, including three women, who were engaged in the electoral rolls revision exercise, were gheraoed in Malda district’s Kaliachak. They were rescued by security forces after several hours.
Alleging large-scale deletion of voters’ names, the protesters also blocked National Highway 12, connecting Kolkata and Siliguri, on Wednesday, April 1.
Latching on to the incidents, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of drawing up a “blueprint of conspiracy” to foment unrest in the state and pave the way for President’s rule ahead of the assembly elections.
Supreme Court calls Bengal ‘the most polarised state’
Hours after the Kaliachak incident, which led the Supreme Court to describe West Bengal as “the most polarised state”, protesters blocked NH-12 again, this time at Mangalbari area of the district on Thursday morning.
They set tyres on fire and erected bamboo barricades on the road, bringing traffic to a halt. A similar agitation was held at Jadupur in the English Bazar area.
“We have all the necessary documents, yet our names have been struck off the voter list. We want immediate rectification,” a protester said.
The blockade at Mangalbari continued for nearly four hours. It was lifted after Malda Additional District Magistrate Sheikh Ansar Ahmed reached the spot and assured the protesters that their grievances would be looked into.
A police officer said, “When police personnel attempted to lift the blockade, they were attacked by protesters. Several police vehicles were vandalised, and a driver sustained head injuries.”
“Security has been stepped up in the area,” he added.
In Jalpaiguri’s Maynaguri, locals blocked National Highway-27 at Husuldanga from Thursday morning, alleging that many genuine voters had been marked as “deleted” or kept under “adjudication” after the SIR exercise.
The blockade, since morning, brought the highway traffic to a standstill, with long queues of goods-carrying vehicles seen on both sides of the road.
Holding up placards, people raised slogans against the Election Commission and demanded that their names be put back on the electoral rolls.
Security forces, along with administrative officials, reached the spot and spoke to the protesters, but they refused to relent. The blockade on NH-27 was lifted hours later after prolonged negotiations.
Anti-SIR protests spread across the state
Another group blocked the Maynaguri-Lataguri road. The Maynaguri-Dhupguri stretch of the Asian Highway was obstructed at Churabhandar by the locals.
The anti-SIR agitation has also spread to neighbouring Cooch Behar district, where residents of Madrasa More in Pachagarh gram panchayat area blocked the Cooch Behar-Mathabhanga state highway for nearly three hours.
They squatted on the road, burnt tyres, alleging that several names had “disappeared” from the electoral rolls and demanded an explanation from the authorities.
In Purba Bardhaman, a silent march was organised at Shaktigarh, where protesters claimed that many genuine voters have found their names missing from the poll rolls.
They later submitted a memorandum to the BDO of Bardhaman-II block, demanding immediate correction of the voters’ list.
Mamata says her powers taken away
Addressing rallies at Sagardighi and Suti in Murshidabad district on Thursday, Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission had failed to protect the judicial officers in Malda.
“My powers have been taken away, and Bengal has been defamed. Nobody from the administration even informed me about the Malda incident,” she said.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s observations on the Malda incident, Banerjee said the apex court had rightly criticised the administration.
The Supreme Court has described the gherao of the judicial officers as “deplorable” and ordered an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into it.
The court asked the Election Commission to “requisition adequate Central Forces and deploy them at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating the objections” in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state.
While condemning the attack on the judicial officers, Banerjee maintained that people had the right to protest, but “no one should touch judges or judicial officers”.
She also alleged that the Malda incident was being used by the BJP to “defame the whole of Bengal”.
“The BJP has made many plans and the Government of India is acting as its accomplice. Amit Shah is preparing the blueprint of a conspiracy. I appeal to all of you — do not fall into the trap of riots. This is the BJP’s plan,” Banerjee said at the Suti rally.
The Chief Minister maintained that those involved in the violence were not members of the Trinamool Congress and hinted at a larger political design behind the unrest.
“They think they will win through muscle power. They think they can snatch victory by force. I appeal to everyone — do not indulge in riots or violence. Remain calm. However much the BJP attacks Bengal, Bengal will win again,” she said.
In a politically loaded remark, Banerjee said people must ensure through their votes that those behind such attempts are punished.
“Those trying to divide people in the name of religion must be defeated democratically,” she said.
The SIR exercise has emerged as one of the biggest flashpoints in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls, with the Trinamool Congress claiming that the names of minorities, Bengali-speaking migrants and economically weaker sections are being disproportionately targeted.
