Will Trinamool's Mega Rally in Kolkata Change Public Sentiment on the SIR?
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Key Takeaways
Kolkata, Nov 1 (NationPress) The Trinamool Congress is set to hold a significant rally in Kolkata on Tuesday to voice its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Coincidentally, the initial phase of the three-stage revision process will also kick off in West Bengal on the same day.
During this first phase, booth-level officers (BLOs) will be visiting all households with enumeration forms to verify voter information.
The anti-SIR rally will commence from the base of the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at Red Road in central Kolkata and will conclude in front of the historic residence of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore at Jorasanko in north Kolkata.
"The rally is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. and will be led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alongside party general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee," stated a member of the West Bengal Cabinet.
He further revealed that two individuals in the state have tragically taken their lives, while another has attempted suicide, allegedly driven by fears of being removed from the voters' list due to the SIR.
"The BJP is attempting to instill fear in the state under the guise of the SIR. Therefore, we have decided to hold the rally on Tuesday, coinciding with the commencement of the revision exercise. Our sole demand is that no genuine voter's name should be struck from the electoral rolls," emphasized the Cabinet member.
On the same day, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari will lead a BJP rally at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district to counter the claims made by the Trinamool Congress.
The BJP rally aims to expose what it perceives as the Trinamool Congress efforts to create panic and misinformation regarding the revision exercise.
Earlier this week, Pradeep Kar (57), a resident of Panihati, reportedly took his own life allegedly out of fear of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). However, the BJP has challenged the circumstances surrounding his death, accusing the Trinamool Congress of misleading the public regarding this tragic event.