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BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla accuses TMC of inciting communal tensions over voter fraud claims
The Statesman Bhubaneswar
|November 02, 2025
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday hit out at TMC over its allegations of fraud in voter lists, saying the issue is not about "SIR" but "Samvidhan par vaar" and "Bachao apna apna parivaar".
He criticised Mamata Banerjee's shift from opposing illegal immigrants in 2005 to now allegedly protecting their votes, saying that her party is inciting communal tensions.
"This is not about SIR; this is about 'Samvidhan par vaar' and 'Bachao apna apna parivaar'. In 2005, Mamata Banerjee used to throw papers at Somnath Chatterjee, stating how we should remove all the Rohingyas, Bangladeshis, and infiltrators who have come. Today, the same party of Mamata Banerjee is trying hard to keep the votes of the outsiders and infiltrators, and talk of inciting riots is being done by their party," he said.
Poonawalla also remarked on the decline in the quality of the SIR process since 2004, implying that TMC is using these tactics to shield their interests and target the Election Commission.
"Before 2004, SIR was conducted 12-13 times, which was good, but today’s SIR is bad... Just to save their own family, they are targeting the Election Commission," he further added.
This story is from the November 02, 2025 edition of The Statesman Bhubaneswar.
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