Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Mar 24: Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, has accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of deliberately targeting Hindi-speaking Hindu voters and Bengali-speaking voters from backward communities with the alleged support of state administration officials.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Adhikari claimed that BJP’s state unit has received multiple complaints from voters being asked to prove their Indian origin, specifically to establish that they are not Bangladeshi citizens. He cited instances from Bagda in North 24 Parganas and Krishnanagar in Nadia district, where two Block Development Officers (BDOs) have been accused of harassing voters.

"We have appealed to the Election Commission of India to take strict action against these officials. The matter has also been escalated to our central leadership, who will address it at the appropriate platform," Adhikari stated.

According to him, this alleged harassment began after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during a public meeting in February, indirectly labeled Hindi-speaking voters as "bogus voters." He claimed that following her speech, TMC functionaries, in coordination with certain officials, started intimidating these voter groups.

He further alleged that TMC is attempting to remove the names of these voters from electoral rolls through an outsourced agency. "Since these communities have consistently rejected TMC in elections, the ruling party is now trying to erase their voter identity," Adhikari asserted.

In response to similar allegations earlier, Mamata Banerjee had accused the BJP of using outsourced agencies to enroll non-residents from states like Haryana and Gujarat as voters in Bengal. She had also announced the formation of a core committee to identify such cases.

Adhikari warned that BJP would organize peaceful protests in affected areas and continue to fight against any voter suppression attempts.