New Delhi [India], November 25 : BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain Tuesday slammed ruling Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over their opposition to the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in Nine States and three Union Territories.
The BJP leader went on to say that there is "no difference" between CM Mamata Banerjee and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
"There is no difference between Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee. Rahul Gandhi sometimes takes EVM, the Election Commission and SIR as an excuse after losing elections; Now Mamata Banerjee is also copying Rahul Gandhi. Mamata Banerjee feels the BJP is going to win. This time, Bangladeshi infiltrators are running away. Infiltrators will not be able to cast their votes; these people will go to their own places. Only the people of Bengal will vote in Bengal," Hussain, a senior BJP leader, told ANI.
Shahnawaz Hussain also expressed confidence about winning the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
"This time, the BJP will form the government in Bengal. TMC is sure to go, and BJP is sure to come," the BJP leader told ANI.
On the reported deaths of Booth Level Officers in Bengal, Hussain said, "...Mamata Banerjee is right away blaming the Election Commission. She is staging a protest outside the Chief Electoral Office".
Meanwhile, CM Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday lambasted the BJP over the exercise in the state, saying "nobody can throw you (electors) out."
Addressing a public meeting opposing the SIR exercise, Mamata Banerjee confronted the BJP, stating she does not fear them. She questioned if the aim of the SIR is to remove Bangladeshi nationals from the voter list, then why is the Election Commission conducting the exercise in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh?"
She said, "I love Bangladesh as a country, because our language is the same. I am from Birbhum, but one day they will call me Bangladeshi. PM Modi got votes in 2024 as per the same list. If your name gets deleted, the Central government should also be deleted. Why conducting SIR in such a hurry?"
"Till I am here, I will not allow them to throw you out. Nobody can throw you out. If Bangladeshi is a problem, then why are you conducting SIR in Madhya Pradesh and UP?" she asked.
The first phase was completed in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
The exercise covers Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.