Union Home Minister Amit Shah  fired back at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, pledging that the BJP-led central government will “single-handedly remove all infiltrators” from the country. His strong remarks came a day after Banerjee criticized the ongoing voter list cleanup in Bengal, calling the exercise “chaotic” and “dangerous.”

“I want to make it clear that we will single-handedly remove all the infiltrators from this country. This is our pledge. The SIR is a process to protect the country and our democracy,” Shah said while addressing the Border Security Force’s 61st Raising Day event at Haripur, Bhuj in Gujarat.

Allegations Against Opposition Parties

Without naming names but leaving no room for doubt, Home Minister Shah unleashed a blistering attack on opposition parties, accusing them of deliberately sabotaging the electoral updation drive designed to eliminate infiltrators who threaten India’s demographic and democratic fabric.

“Unfortunately, some political parties are trying to weaken the campaign to eliminate infiltrators. These political parties are opposing the SIR process and the Election Commission’s voter list sanitisation,” Home Minister Shah said.

Appeal to the Public

Home Minister Shah appealed to the people of the country to fully support the SIR process being carried out by the Election Commission. He also warned political parties involved in protecting infiltrators, stating that the Bihar elections reflect the mandate of the people.

“Today, I want to appeal to the people of the country to fully support the SIR process being carried out by the Election Commission. I want to warn those political parties involved in protecting infiltrators that the Bihar elections are a mandate from the people of the country,” he said.

Mamata Banerjee Raises Concerns Over SIR

On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to the Election Commission expressing “serious concerns” over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), demanding the poll body’s immediate intervention in what she called an “unplanned, chaotic, dangerous” exercise.

SIR Process in West Bengal

Key Facts About the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal

• Purpose of SIR: The Election Commission of India is conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in West Bengal to update voter information.
   
• Enumeration Forms Distributed: So far, 7,64,25,717 Enumeration Forms (EF) have been distributed across the state.
   
• Forms Returned: Out of the distributed forms, 1,57,78,333 have been returned.
   
• Registered Voters: As of October 27th, West Bengal had 7,66,37,529 registered voters.
   
• Duration of SIR: The process started on November 4th and is scheduled to conclude on December 4th.
   
• Reports of Migrant Exit: Soon after the SIR began, reports emerged that hundreds of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, many holding Aadhaar and Voter IDs, were leaving India and returning to Bangladesh.