BJP accuses Mamata of 'politics of appeasement' for denouncing SIR

New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) The BJP on Saturday claimed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is raising objections to the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls and engaging in politics of appeasement as she senses imminent defeat of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the assembly polls next year.

BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed Banerjee is "scared" of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) because it will expose the "infiltrators" that the ruling TMC has "nurtured" as its vote bank in the state.

"When the news came on various TV channels that the infiltrators were returning to their country... Mamata Banerjee appeared sad, worried and deeply distressed," Bhata told reporters at the BJP headquarters here.

"Mamata Banerjee is now thinking that she nurtured these infiltrators, got them fake certificates so that when the time comes they vote for her, but they are going back to their country now, when elections are coming," he said.

Meanwhile, Banerjee is set to hold a rally in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas district, in West Bengal on November 25 before leading a 3-km march from Chandpara to Thakurnagar -- the spiritual headquarters of the Matua community -- as part of her campaign against SIR of electoral rolls.

This marks the latest escalation in her campaign against the SIR, a drive she has denounced as "coercive" and "chaotic".

"Why is Mamata Banerjee so worried and anxious about the SIR, which will ensure only those who are Indian citizens can vote? What compulsion does she have?” Bhatia jibed.

The BJP spokesperson alleged that Banerjee's entire political disposition has been based on "communal polarisation and the votes of infiltrators".

"At the behest of Mamata Banerjee, her party leader Humayun Kabir talks about constructing Babri Masjid on December 6… It's now clear how Mamata Banerjee is pursuing appeasement politics by adopting an anti-Hindu stance," Bhatia alleged.

"The countdown for the TMC has begun," he said, asserting that the people of West Bengal will teach Banerjee a "tough lesson" in the state polls next year. PTI PK ARB ARB