Suvendu Adhikari claims 1 crore ‘Rohingya, Bangladeshi, fake voters’ in Bengal, urges ECI to take action

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has claimed that there are nearly one crore Rohingya immigrants, Bangladeshi Muslim voters, deceased voters, duplicate entries, and fake voters in the electoral rolls of the State.

The BJP leader urged the Election Commission of India to remove these names from the voters’ 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,” Mr. Adhikari told reporters on Saturday.

Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar called for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, similar to the one currently underway in Bihar.

“SIR is a regular practice of the Election Commission of India. Even in the year 2002, the SIR exercise was carried out in West Bengal. Names of 20 lakh voters were removed from the voter list…It is the role of the Election Commission to rectify the voter list. A well-proof voter list is necessary to make our democracy vibrant,” Mr. Majumdar said.

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee ridiculed the exercise, calling it “Silent Invisible Rigging”, and accused the Election Commission of operating in favour of the BJP.

He cited cases such as a residential certificate issued in a dog’s name, arguing that genuine voters were being arbitrarily removed from the rolls.

“Under the pretext of SIR, the names of the citizens of this country are being deleted from the list, and a residential certificate is being issued in the name of a dog, and the Election Commission is even accepting this residential certificate. There is a residential certificate in the name of a dog, but people cannot cast their votes. The SIR that they are talking about…Special Intensive Revision…the actual meaning of SIR is rather Silent Invisible Rigging, which has been started by the Election Commission in favour of the BJP. Those who use their voting rights to question the government, the Election Commission is trying to snatch away their voting rights,” the Trinamool MP said.