Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kolkata on Saturday (20 December) to visit Nadia district of West Bengal. Here he will inaugurate national highway projects and address a public meeting. His visit is taking place amid increasing political tension in the state regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.
This will be PM Modi’s first visit to the state after the publication of the draft SIR lists and his third visit in the last five months. An official said, “The Prime Minister reached Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 10.33 am and left for Nadia by helicopter.”
PM Modi will address public meeting in Taherpur
After the publication of the draft lists, the Prime Minister will address a public meeting from a strategically important place in Taherpur area of Ranaghat to address the growing concerns among the members of the Matua community. This rally venue is a short distance away from the stronghold of the Namasudra Hindu community in nearby Bangaon. There are possibilities that during this time, Modi can launch BJP’s election campaign for the assembly elections proposed in the state early next year and can also outline the party’s large-scale strategy for these important elections.
Giving information about his visit on Friday evening, the Prime Minister posted on ‘X’ and said, “The people of West Bengal are benefiting from the public-friendly initiatives of the Central Government. At the same time, due to the mismanagement of Trinamool Congress in every field, they are also facing problems. He said, “Trinamool’s politics of loot and intimidation has crossed all limits. This is the reason why BJP remains the hope of the people today.
More than 58 lakh names removed from the draft list
58,20,899 names have been removed from the draft list of voters released after the counting phase. After this, the total number of voters in the state has reduced to 7.08 crore. Logical discrepancies have been found in about 1.36 crore entries. Apart from this, no trace of 30 lakh voters could be found, hence they have been kept in the category of ‘unknown’. A large number of these people are likely to be called for verification hearing within the next 45 days.
For the Matuas, a Dalit Hindu community that has been fleeing Bangladesh for decades due to religious persecution, the process has reignited old concerns over identity and documentation. Political experts believe that out of 294 assembly seats in the state, members of this community have significant influence on about 80 seats.
There is speculation that the names of a large number of people from the Matua community have already been excluded from the draft voter list. Apart from this, in case hearing notice is received during the verification stage, due to non-availability of specified indicative documents decided by the Election Commission, it is feared that many more names will be removed from the final voter list.
Deep penetration of BJP among Matua community
Election results in the last few years indicate that the BJP has made considerable inroads within this community and has promised to grant them formal Indian citizenship. BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who represents Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, claimed that fear was being deliberately spread among the Matua community regarding the SIR. He said, “We hope that such apprehensions and rumors will be dispelled by the Prime Minister’s message.”
PM Modi will give many gifts
Chief Minister Banerjee has already held anti-SIR rallies in Nadia and North 24 Parganas. Both these districts are adjacent to Bangladesh and there is a sizeable population of Matua community here. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the 66.7 km long 4-laning of Barajaguli-Krishnanagar route of National Highway-34 in Nadia district. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone of 17.6 km long 4-laning of Barasat-Barajaguli road of National Highway-34 in North 24 Parganas district.
Officials said that these projects will serve as important connectivity routes between Kolkata and Siliguri. These projects will also boost economic development in the region and encourage tourism in the entire region.
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