Mamata Banerjee accuses BJP of spreading NRC fear following Bengal man's suicide, triggers saffron retort

"It shakes me to the very core to imagine how, for years, BJP has tormented innocent citizens with the threat of NRC, spreading lies, stoking panic and weaponising insecurity for votes," Banerjee said in the post.

She charged the BJP with turning "constitutional democracy into a theatre of fear", and said the "tragic death" was the result of "venomous propaganda".

"They have turned Constitutional democracy into a theatre of fear, where people are made to doubt their own right to exist. This tragic death is the direct consequence of BJP's venomous propaganda. Those who sit in Delhi and preach nationalism have pushed ordinary Indians to such despair that they are dying in their own land, fearing they will be declared 'FOREIGNERS'," she added.

Demanding that the Centre put an end to what she called a "heartless game," Banerjee reiterated that Bengal would "never allow NRC" and would protect the dignity and rights of its people.

"Our soil belongs to Maa, Mati, Manush (mother, land and people), not to those who thrive on hate. Let the Delhi Zamindars hear this loud and clear: Bengal will resist, Bengal will protect and Bengal will prevail," she added.

Later, talking to the media, Barrackpore Police Commissioner Murlidhar Sharma said Kar's body was found hanging inside his room at his residence in Panihati.

"After a preliminary investigation and speaking to his family members and relatives, we found that Mr Kar had been very depressed due to the NRC. He had been under severe stress for quite some time, especially since yesterday's announcement regarding the rollout of the SIR of electoral rolls," Sharma told reporters.

The IPS officer said the deceased had dinner on Monday night and then went to his room to sleep.

"His family members could not understand what was going on in his mind. On Tuesday morning, he was found hanging from the ceiling of his room," Sharma said.

The deceased's elder sister claimed that her brother had been frightened about the implementation of the NRC.

"My brother was very scared about the implementation of the NRC. He used to tell us that he would be taken away in the name of NRC," the sister said.

Responding sharply to the chief minister's comments, BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused Banerjee of "resorting to lies and theatrics" over the incident.

"The tragic death of Pradeep Kar must be investigated thoroughly - the cause of suicide can and must be determined only by the law and investigating agencies, not through political rhetoric," Malviya said in an X post.

"Let's also get the facts right - there is NO NRC anywhere in the country. Mamata Banerjee is lying and deliberately spreading panic to stoke fear among people for political gain," he added.

Malviya alleged that it was the TMC and not the BJP, that "weaponised fear" by exploiting the anxieties of poor Hindu refugees who fled religious persecution and sought shelter in India.

"The same fear was used to loot, assault, and suppress voices, as seen in Sandeshkhali and during the riots in Malda and Murshidabad," the BJP leader wrote.

Malviya accused Banerjee of using the incident as a tool to spread anxiety among voters ahead of the now-announced SIR exercise.

"Mamata Banerjee knows that a proper Special Investigation Report (SIR) will expose the rot in her administration and mark the beginning of her political downfall. The SIR will also ensure that illegal infiltrators, who double up as TMC's votebank, are IDENTIFIED and DELETED from the voter list. That's why she's resorting to lies and theatrics once again.

"Truth and accountability will prevail - not fear mongering," he stated.

Asked to respond to the BJP leader's comment, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee sounded dismissive.

"Amit Malviya has no understanding of the Bengali language. The suicide note is written in Bangla. Let him learn the language first and then he can make his comments," he said.