Bengal ‘SIR suicide’ row: TMC ups the ante against BJP after Cooch Behar man makes similar bid

Kolkata, Oct 29 (PTI) West Bengal's political domain remained abuzz on Wednesday, with the TMC and BJP exchanging sharp accusations over the suicide of a man on the outskirts of Kolkata and a suicide bid by another person in Cooch Behar, both of who allegedly panicked in the wake of the SIR exercise to determine voting eligibility.

While Trinamool's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee called people to confront and "tie up" local BJP leaders to "trees and poles" if they asked for their parents' birth certificates, the state's Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari slammed the ruling dispensation for "peddling lies over the tragic death of a man for political dividends".

Abhishek made his remark after visiting the family of 57-year-old Pradeep Kar, who allegedly died by suicide at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district on Tuesday, allegedly over fear of SIR while leaving a suicide note behind where he reportedly mentioned his anxiety over 'NRC'.

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the schedule for conducting SIR, or Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, in 12 states and UTs, including poll-bound West Bengal, after completing the exercise in Bihar where names of over 45 lakh ineligible voters were deleted.

The NRC, or National Register for Citizens, is an initiative of the central government to identify and list legal Indian citizens and deport illegal immigrants and has, so far, only been implemented in Assam.

Various opposition parties, including the TMC, have alleged that the SIR is the Centre's "ploy" to use the EC and implement NRC "through backdoor".

Amid the ongoing imbroglio, TMC claimed that a 63-year-old man in Cooch Behar district attempted suicide on Wednesday fearing harassment under SIR, and accused the BJP and the EC of triggering panic across the state.

Police said Khairul Sheikh, a resident of Jitpur in Dinhata, allegedly consumed poison as "he was anxious over his name being wrongly recorded in the 2002 voter list". He is currently undergoing treatment at the Cooch Behar district hospital.

Abhishek, meanwhile, accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of being responsible for the "climate of panic" and demanded criminal action.

"Kar died due to anxiety over NRC and SIR. An FIR should be filed against Shah and Kumar" he said.

Banerjee was flanked by TMC MPs Partha Bhowmick and Nirmal Ghosh and youth leader Debraj Chakraborty when he met the deceased's family.

TMC leaders said the handwritten note found near Kar's body reflected his fear of documentation requirements and looming exclusion.

Addressing supporters later, Banerjee escalated his attack on the BJP's demand for legacy papers.

"Next time local BJP leaders come to your area, stop them and ask them to furnish their parents' certificates. Tie them to a tree or lamp post and tell them they won't be released until they produce their parents' and grandparents' documents," he said.

"We do not believe in violence. Don't assault them, just tie them up if they ask for your parents' birth certificates," he added.

Adhikari, on the other hand, while claiming that the death was unrelated to the NRC issue, maintained that the deceased had his name enrolled in the 2002 electoral rolls and had voted in that year's assembly elections in Panihati constituency.

"Kar's death is in no way related to the issue of NRC and SIR. The unfortunate incident must be due to some other reasons," he said.

"The TMC has built up false narratives in an insensitive manner. The people of Bengal will give a befitting reply to such propaganda," the Nandigram MLA added.

While Banerjee declared that the TMC would hold a protest rally in Panihati demanding justice for Kar, Adhikari announced that the BJP would hold a counter-rally in the same area on November 4.

Barrackpore Police Commissioner Muralidhar Sharma had earlier said Kar was found hanging at his residence and that preliminary investigations revealed the person was in depression after announcement of the SIR of the electoral rolls on Monday.

Condemning what she described as the BJP's "politics of fear and division," the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged on Tuesday that the party's campaign around the NRC has created panic among people.

In the wake of the Cooch Behar incident, the TMC escalated its attack by means of a strongly worded post on X, stating, "Two lives. Two tragedies. One cause. BJP's politics of hate. How many more lives will it take, Narendra Modi, for you to stop weaponising citizenship?" TMC leader Partha Pratim Roy alleged widespread panic among former enclave residents in Cooch Behar, claiming they fear being declared "outsiders in their own land".

"The Commission must take responsibility. Two consecutive incidents show how the SIR is affecting lives," he said.

The BJP has dismissed the allegations, saying the SIR process is a routine exercise to clean the voter rolls.

"The allegations are baseless. They are trying to give a political twist to every incident," a local BJP leader said. PTI PNT SUS SMY MNB