Will CPI-M's Upcoming Rally Address Voter Concerns Over SIR?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- CPI-M's rally focuses on protecting legitimate voter names.
- Trinamool Congress plans a counter-rally in November.
- Political tensions are rising over the SIR in West Bengal.
- The importance of voter rights is at the forefront of this debate.
- Both parties are using the SIR to further their political agendas.
Kolkata, Oct 18 (NationPress) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is set to host a public rally in Kolkata on October 29. The rally will not oppose the upcoming special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal, but will advocate for the protection of genuine voters' names in the voters' list.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has announced plans for a significant rally in Kolkata, scheduled for either the first or second week of November, in opposition to the SIR.
During the October 29 event, allies from the Left Front will also join the rally. A member of the CPI-M State Committee stated that the objectives of the two parties differ significantly.
"The Trinamool Congress is entirely against implementing the SIR in the state. In contrast, our demand is solely to ensure that not a single legitimate voter's name is removed during this process. We support the removal of names associated with bogus, deceased, or duplicate voters from the voters' list," he explained.
The CPI-M leadership has consistently articulated a political agenda concerning the SIR, distinct from that of the Trinamool Congress.
"The Trinamool Congress government acts as if this SIR is unprecedented. The last SIR executed in the state occurred in 2002. This is merely an effort to mislead the public. Our movement does not oppose the SIR but seeks to prevent the wrongful deletion of genuine voters' names from any community," the CPI-M State Committee member asserted.
According to CPI-M politburo member and state secretary, Md Salim, both the BJP and Trinamool Congress are utilizing the SIR to instill fear among the populace and mislead them.
"Our movement stands against both BJP and TMC. It is the Election Commission of India's responsibility to identify fraudulent voters, and this should not lead to the removal of genuine voters' names from the list," Salim emphasized.
From the outset, the Trinamool Congress has characterized the SIR as a political maneuver by the BJP and the central government to impose the NRC in West Bengal.
The BJP has asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposes the SIR to ensure that the names of unlawful Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators remain in the voters' list.