TMC slams Shah over remarks on SIR; calls him 'incapable home minister', demands his resignation

Kolkata, Nov 21 (PTI) The Trinamool Congress on Friday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks on Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing him of using the "infiltrator rhetoric" to target West Bengal and alleging that the Centre had failed on national security.

The party also demanded that Shah step down from his post.

Senior minister Shashi Panja said Shah went to Gujarat and spoke about infiltrators, democracy and national security, but "the reality is a deep sense of insecurity across the country." She said terrorists killing tourists in Kashmir and a blast in Delhi showed that the "security framework is cracking under the home minister's watch." "If borders were truly secure, these incidents would not have happened," she said.

Panja accused Shah of distorting facts and "diverting attention from failures by pointing fingers at Bengal." "When there are lapses in Delhi, the BJP reads from its old script and blames Bengal. It is a tired, predictable strategy," she said.

She said the SIR in Bengal had turned into a "punishing, coercive" exercise.

"The last SIR in 2002 took two years. Now Bengal is being forced to complete it in two months," she said.

She cited the chief minister's letter to the CEC about "undue haste" and "inhuman pressure." "BLOs are being threatened, overworked and pushed to breaking point. Thirty-one lives have already been lost in this SIR-driven climate of fear," she claimed.

Panja accused the BJP of wanting to "capture Bengal by intimidation." "You want Bengal to be afraid. You are manufacturing panic. But Bengal will resist," she said.

She added that the BJP continued to be seen as "bairagato", outsiders and anti-Bengal.

"The coming election will prove it. You will not cross 50 seats," she said.

TMC MP Sagarika Ghose took the attack further and directly sought Shah's resignation.

"Mr Amit Shah is a singularly incapable Home Minister. He failed to prevent the Pahalgam terror attack. He failed to stop the Delhi blast. If infiltrators are coming in, it is his failure," she said.

Ghose said Shah was "too busy breaking opposition governments" to secure India's borders.

"The border security force reports to you. The responsibility is yours. If borders are breached, you should resign," she said.

She said Shah's remarks on infiltrators were "political theatre" designed to justify an SIR that was "hurting bonafide citizens." "The SIR is being used to disenfranchise people. It is targeted at Bengal. It is causing enormous pain," she said.

Shah, addressing the BSF's Raising Day in Bhuj, had said parties resisting SIR wanted infiltrators' names on the rolls and described the exercise as a "purification" of the voters' list.

The TMC said Bengal "will not yield to fear" and that its resistance would only strengthen ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. PTI PNT MNB