KOLKATA: Union Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Saturday alleged that opposition parties are politicising the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) issue for their benefits, while maintaining that this exercise is being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), not the Centre.
He also dismissed the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegations that Bengali-speaking people from Bengal are being harassed and tortured in various BJP-ruled states.
After a meeting with the officials from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisgarh at Kolkata, Singh said, “The Centre has not initiated the SIR of electoral rolls. It is being carried out by the Election Commission of India.”
Replying to questions from the media, he said, “The ECI is only verifying who are the genuine citizens of this country. Don't you think that people who have died or left the country should be removed from the voter list? Unfortunately, some opposition parties seem to be interested in having the names of the dead in the voter list.”
He also accused some opposition parties for unnecessarily criticizing the SIR exercise.
RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav on Saturday alleged that his name is excluded in the voter lists in Bihar. Replying to a question on this allegation, Singh said, “Was Tejaswi born after 2003? Then he has to submit forms. Did he do that?”
“Tejaswi is doing politics,” he alleged.
The Trinamool Congress and its chairperson Mamata Banerjee have been alleging that Bengali-speaking migrant workers are being harassed and tortured in various BJP-ruled states.
Refuting the allegations, Singh said, “No such incident has taken place. Bengali-speaking citizens residing in other states can decide whether to be enrolled in their native place or their place of work. Once their documents are verified, they are allowed to go. There is no ill treatment.”
He claimed that the verification process is a part of efforts to identify Bangladeshis, who are living illegally in India and also managed to get fake Aadhaar cards.
“It is a threat to our national security. Don’t you (the Trinamool Congress Government in West Bengal) want to ensure national security?” He added.