TMC attacks PM Modi, asks whether he called over 1 crore 'SIR-affected' people of Bengal 'ghuspaithiya'

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (file image)

• TMC accuses PM Modi of calling 1 crore Bengal residents "infiltrators"
• Mamata Banerjee challenges voter roll revision in SC, calls it exclusionary.
• TMC urges voters to remember PM's remarks ahead of assembly polls

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The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that over one crore people in West Bengal are facing "harassment" due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls and questioning if he was calling them "infiltrators".

Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi launched a scathing attack on the TMC, accusing it of protecting "infiltrators" and saying that "courts are being pressured to save infiltrators".

The attack came a day after Mamata Banerjee became the first serving Chief Minister to argue in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as she sought an intervention in the SIR of electoral rolls, alleging that West Bengal was being "targeted" and its people were being "bulldozed".

In a post on X, the TMC said people of West Bengal should remember the prime minister's remarks while voting in the upcoming assembly polls.

"Today, in a veiled dig at Smt Mamata Banerjee's appearance in the Supreme Court, Narendra Modi misled Parliament by claiming that pressure is being mounted on the judiciary to protect 'ghuspaithiya (infiltrators)'," the TMC said.

"So who exactly is Didi fighting for on the streets and in the courts? The 150 families who have lost loved ones due to this ruthless process... The 1.4 crore people, elderly citizens, women, migrant workers, daily wage earners and patients branded as 'logical discrepancies' and forced to appear for hearings... Alive voters falsely marked dead and deleted," the TMC said.

"These are the very people the prime minister dares to call 'ghuspaithiya'. Remember that before you cast your precious vote," it said.

TMC's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose accused the prime minister of using foul language, stating that stopping infiltration is the Centre's task.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi rarely comes to Parliament. When he does come to Parliament, all he does in his speeches is target the opposition in foul language," Ghose said.

"Mr Narendra Modi is talking about infiltrators when it comes to Bengal. Why does Mr Narendra Modi not realise that the borders of India are the responsibility of the home ministry? She said the home ministry is responsible for India's borders and the Border Security Force (BSF) falls under the ministry.

"Mr Narendra Modi should look in the mirror and understand the realities of today, understand the suffering of people, understand the trouble of people and not just focus on changing his attire five times a day. Governments will work when governments are aware of realities, not when the prime minister is busy changing his clothes several times a day," she said.

Banerjee, who took her fight against the ongoing SIR to the national capital earlier this week, brought here a number of people allegedly affected by SIR, calling the exercise "exclusionary". She also met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with members of the "SIR-affected families" but walked out of the meeting alleging that the CEC was "arrogant" and they felt "humiliated".