Haveri (Karnataka) [India], January 11 : Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai took a jibe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, accusing her of shielding "bogus voters" from Bangladesh to secure her win in the West Bengal Assembly elections this year.
Bommai alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader is defending individuals who have entered India from Bangladesh and registered as voters through fraudulent means. "West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is defending the people who have come from Bangladesh and have registered bogus votes in West Bengal," Bommai stated.
He claimed that Banerjee's recent attacks against SIR and ECI come from a fear of losing the upcoming Legislative elections 2026, implying that she depends on "bogus voters" for electoral victories.
"She is winning only with those votes. Now she is worried that once the bogus voters are removed, her victory will be very difficult. Therefore, she is trying to malign the CEC and their SIR efforts," he claimed.
This comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to the streets to protest against the ED action. She said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trying to come to power in West Bengal as it did in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Addressing the gathering, CM Mamata Banerjee said, "I never react, but if anyone hurts me, I never spare them. In the name of SIR, they target local people. They harassed old people and pregnant women. Those who abuse the TMC, they do not know that TMC workers are extremely dedicated. In the name of SIR, local people are being harassed. Their documents are being taken, and they are not being given receipts. When the enumeration took place, Booth Level Agent-1 went door to door with BLOs. They will stay in polling stations and booths."
She further said that she had never seen any party like the BJP before, saying that the party is trying to forcefully enter.
"If you speak in Bengali, they declare you Bangladeshi. They say that there are Rohingyas present in Bengal, but where are the Rohingyas? If there are Rohingyas, why has SIR not been started in Assam? Rohingyas enter from Myanmar. First, they have to cross Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. This is all being done because they are trying to come to power in Bengal as they did in Maharashtra and Haryana. They carry out vote theft through the ECI; EC cannot harm me," she added.