Kolkata, April 1 — BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty on Wednesday accused the Trinamool Congress of pursuing “divisive politics” in West Bengal, while praising the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and flagging reports of “dead voters” as a matter needing closer scrutiny ahead of the Assembly polls. He raised questions about alleged irregularities in voter lists and called for transparency in the voting process.
Speaking to IANS, Chakraborty said the communal division he alleged did not begin recently but, in his view, surfaced about “one to one-and-a-half years” after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assumed office. “Have you ever heard of Hindu-Muslim division like this in Bengal before? Since then, it has been about dividing people and turning votes in their favour,” he said.
On the SIR exercise, Chakraborty said the revision revealed many purportedly deceased names on the rolls and asked, “So who was casting votes in the names of these deceased people?” He defended the revision as uniformly applied and argued that if names were removed or altered, all parties — including the BJP — would be affected. “If others have been affected, then BJP votes must have been affected too. So why are we making unnecessary noise? If something has happened according to the Constitution, then it applies to everyone. So why are they so troubled by it?” he asked.
Chakraborty challenged those opposing the SIR, demanding to know which leaders or personalities were saying “no” and on what grounds. He also criticised what he called selective political rhetoric in the state, noting that opposition parties often call for removing the BJP while not calling for the removal of the Trinamool. “They say ‘remove the Bharatiya Janata Party’. Calling it a ‘fascist party’, but you won’t hear them say ‘remove Trinamool,’” he said.
Addressing minority outreach, Chakraborty insisted the BJP is not against Indian Muslims: “You can take this from me, no one understands this better than I do, as I have been inside and seen it myself.” He added, “But we are definitely against non-Indian Muslims, and those who live in this country yet wish harm to it. We are against them,” and accused the ruling party of practising open appeasement politics, whereas earlier it was more indirect.
Clarifying his own ambitions, Chakraborty said electoral office-holding is not his goal and pointed to national honours he has received: “All these things are not my political ambition. Whatever God has given me, I am not even able to handle that fully. Why would I want more?” He explained he avoids getting tied down to one place: “First of all, I don’t fight because if I do, I will become limited to one place.”
On cultural issues, he argued food habits should not be politicised, noting that the BJP governs in 21 states and that some places have restricted certain meats for religious reasons in sensitive areas. He said opponents stir fears that the BJP would ban meat if it came to power in West Bengal. Responding to film-related criticism, Chakraborty alleged the movie Bengal Files was not allowed a release in West Bengal while Dhurandhar 2 faced no such restriction, and questioned branding a film “propaganda” without viewing it.
His comments come amid continuing exchanges between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress over governance, identity and electoral integrity ahead of the state Assembly polls. IANS
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/04/01/bjps-chakraborty-accuses-trinamool-of-divisive-politics-lauds-sir-flags-issue-of-dead-voters/
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Publish Date: 2026-04-01 16:23:00
