November 4, 2025
If even one name is removed, we’ll bring down BJP govt : Mamata Banerjee
Highlights of Mamata Banerjee’s speech at the end of the protest march against Special Intensive Review (SIR) in Kolkata :
My greetings to all. People from the cultural and entertainment industries are also here. I am grateful to all the attendees here. Many sportspersons are also here who have made the nation and our State proud. I am grateful to them. My Matua brothers and sisters are also here, they have come from far away places. I extend my greetings and respect to all of you and to people from all walks of life and communities. Many common people have also come, and many could not even enter because of the crowd
Even the media cannot always say everything. They are told what to say and what not to say. They are no longer unbiased, but that is not entirely their fault because they do a job. You say something and they show the other side, but even they are afraid. I feel that they are also thinking whether their names or their relatives’ names will be on the voter list or not
There are many workers in the unorganised sectors, they are also worrying about their names on the list. The same is true for migrant workers. Just because you speak in Bengali, that does not make you Bangladeshi. Similarly, speaking in Hindi or Urdu does not make you Pakistani. We have a Punjab in India and one in Pakistan, that does not mean you will throw people away
They are calling everyone Bangladeshi. They are illiterates who have nothing in their heads! Where was the BJP during India’s freedom struggle? They were not even born, so how will they know about it. Before 1947, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were together – India before independence. After independence, Bangladesh and Pakistan were separated and people chose where they wanted to go. Some came to India and some went to Pakistan and Bangladesh
They create narratives [against me] using AI. The BJP is spending crores on this. They are the biggest zamindars of India, they are the biggest looters. They have used so many agencies to spread fake news. I tell them that in the coming days you will no longer be in power, so this will backfire. They use such derogatory language which we cannot even repeat. They can even defeat the demon, so we do not have to learn from them
There are a few traitors in the BJP who say whatever they want. They have a convoy of hundreds of cars and yet, they call themselves ‘people’s leader’, with so many bodyguards. This is their audacity! A lawyer informed me that yesterday that a ‘babu’ will go to a district and there should be no crowd. Are you not ashamed to treat people like bonded labours? Is the police for this? If you have the guts, go alone and understand the opinion of the people. Just because you have money, you can make videos and capture spaces on social media and godi media, but you are not worthy of ‘people’s Godi’ [throne]
They [BJP] would not even have won this time. Suddenly the ECI increased their vote percentage, is this a victory? What did they do in Maharashtra? They know they cannot win by votes, so they want to win through notes. This is why, I am not telling the chair, but the ‘babu’. I will not say which babu I am referring to. It may be grade one or the lower ones. I respect the chair, but there is a limit to doing dalali
You have surpassed every level of torture. I have seen a few original electoral lists which Abhishek gave to me. In Cooch Behar and Alipurduar, there were 700 voters in the 2002 electoral list. But now in the new list [published by the ECI] that has changed. I am not here to give glamour or footage to anyone. I am here to say what I have to say. They are saying that they have made the SIR historic. When they listen to Bengali, they lose their minds. They go to the teleprompter when they have to speak in Bengali. The same happens with Hindi and other languages too. These are their new tricks, but I am not bothered about it
If 700 voters were there, how can you remove 526 voters? They have removed names from the 2002 list. They are lying and now, they will make everyone fill the forms again. How much did you have to pay for Aadhaar cards? Rs 1,000 was taken for it, was it not theft? Ask them to answer. When you go to the bank to open an account, they want Aadhaar linking. Whom are you deceiving? If Aadhaar cards serve no purpose as ID proof, then bring a revolution and change the government in Delhi. There will be no need for Aadhaar then. How many cards do you want to introduce?
We did a movement for the EPIC card. We said – no ID card, no vote by approaching the ECI. How did you win the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections? Which voter list did you follow? If the list is faulty then your government is also faulty, BJP! Karte hai loot, bolte hai jhuth – this is their true face
Every year they have to do something. Demonetisation was done overnight. I was the first one to oppose it. Did you bring back black money? It was the opposite, black money was transferred outside from the country. People queued up [to exchange the old currency notes] and 100 people died and they did not even offer any condolences. They should be ashamed of themselves!
Now, the LIC money is also gone and even that is unsafe. They do whatever they feel like. We have Mir Jafar now in present-day India. They have blood on their hands from riots. They have burnt so many houses, I will not name each instance. Do they think they will go to heaven after all of this? There is factionalism within their party too
They are envious of Bengal because they know they can capture many States but they cannot capture Bengal. It is because Kolkata was once the capital of British India, however, it was shifted to Delhi because the Britishers could not control the people of Bengal. We are revolutionary people. These people think they will remove 2 crore names and deport people to Bangladesh, or move them to detention camps and throw them out of the country to capture power
I am hearing that a few traitors say they will not win if names are not removed. They say they got 39% vote-share and AITC got 40%, but as far as I remember, in 2004 I got 39% vote-share and won alone as an AITC candidate in Bengal. Now if you think you will win 294 seats by cutting 2-3% vote-share, then you are living in a fool’s paradise. Your voters will now vote for us because they care about their existence
After all these years we will have to give proof of our citizenship? They can make fake certificates, but can we? I tell these ‘feku babus’, show your strength if you can. The last SIR in Bengal was done in 2001 after the polls, and after that there were no polls in 2002-03. The next election happened in 2004. The draft list was used for polling and back then it took two years for the SIR. But what happened suddenly now? To please Modi babu and Amit Shah they are doing this?
Bihar could not understand at first, but when they understood the process [SIR], their names were already removed. We caught them beforehand. We will also see what has to be done. If one legitimate person is removed from the voter list, we will make sure to break the BJP government! We also have information. They called three of our MLAs the day before yesterday saying that they have CBI cases against them and they have to pay money. We will find out who is doing this and file a case. Do not be afraid if they send agencies. Take legal help
One of their [BJP] leaders said that if people vote for them, there will be no fencing between India and Bangladesh, as if he will capture Bangladesh. I do not know the motive behind this. Those who came over to India during independence, we did not do it. Remember, everyone has been given equal rights as per the Constitution
They are saying that all Bangladeshis will be removed and all Rohingyas have come over to Bengal. Then how many Rohingyas did you remove from Bihar? Did you manage to get the numbers of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas removed from Bihar? For the sake of argument, even if Rohingyas came, they are in jail, and the figures they claim, those many Rohingyas do not even exist
When there was unrest in Bangladesh, they said that those who came till 2024 will not be sent away. So does this mean that you will add them to the voter list? They are not entitled to this, only those whose names were there and who did it with proper documents are entitled
They did a camp in Diamond Harbour saying that it was being done by Punjab National Bank, but in reality the BJP did this to collect data using agencies. How can they do such a thing without the consent of the State Government? They are misusing a Central institution’s name to gather data. Do not give any information to them, give it only to the official BLOs
Many a times household members are not at home for work purposes or otherwise. Should that mean that their names will be removed? This is why we have set up help desks across the State under AITC’s banner. Contact them and they will help you. Aadhaar card will be accepted as a document but you will need one more document. Many of you may have house deeds or rent receipts or some other address proof. Nowadays everyone has a bank account. We have so many schemes and all allowances are given through DBT. Apart from this, the school certificate will also be considered as it is considered as a birth certificate. You can also show your caste or OBC certificate
They are making tall claims. They are saying, “bring the certificate of the parents of your ‘pishi’.” They do not even know how to respect. How will they do it? When the father was taking oath as a minister, the son did not attend because of jealousy. What more do you expect from them?
When we were born, we came to Kolkata but were born at home. There was no institutional delivery back then. How will we get birth certificates? I have been MP seven times, Chief Minister three times, and Central minister four times, will I have to give you a justification now? I am not able to speak like them in filthy language, but that does not mean that you will say it and I will stay quiet. Civility is not our weakness
Why did you not do the census all these years? They send letters to us during the festivities. They have appointed a person from Odisha to look after the population census. They did one SECC before we came to power and many names were removed. CPI(M) did not do the work properly back then, which is why this happened. Now we have a count based on the beneficiary list of our schemes. We removed 1.5 crore ration cards because of corruption. CPI(M) used to take away the money and not give the food grains. Then we made digital cards, so that too is a proof
How much more money will you smuggle outside? Even foreign nations are seeing your true face. They are saying things which even we do not say. I have already said that names have been removed from the list despite their names being in the 2002 list. If they had done it in the next election, I would not have said anything. If someone who died and their name is removed, we would not have said anything. I am only talking about legitimate voters
Have you heard the name of Dwijen Mukhopadhyay, a legendary figure of Rabindra Sangeet? His name is not there in the new list after mapping. If they can remove his name, they can remove everyone else’s name. His entire family’s name is not there. If you make a mistake, what should be the punishment?
If you are such a big nationalist, then answer this. There are four election-bound States. You will declare the polls in February, so we have three months in between. Can you cover the 10 crore population and fill all the forms in these three months, something which took 2-3 years? You could have done it after the polls
Why not Assam? It is because you would have lost. I challenge you! You cannot always win with false votes. There are four election-bound States, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam. You did SIR in three Opposition-ruled States but why not the double-engine State?
If the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis come, where will they come from? The Rohingyas will come from Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh. Did you do SIR there? Bangladeshis come from Tripura and Assam also. You removed 19 lakh names there and 12 lakh were Hindus and other religions. They have such audacity that they will do whatever they please just because they are in power. Why is Assam left out?
I feel even the BLAs will not do the amount of work which the ‘Kursi Babu’ is doing. They are completely full of nepotism. Mir Jafar Babu has now made his son the ICC President, and when any of our people join, they talk about dynasty politics, and now they are giving top posts to their family
They have deployed the BSF who are picking up people and harassing and assaulting them for no reason. Now they are in the Matua dominated areas and organising all kinds of illegal camps. How much did they take for these cards? When the elections come, they remember you. Mir Jafar Babu has said that even if 3 lakh Matua votes are removed, he will also cut 1.5 crore votes from the other side
It is very sad to hear about those who have lost their lives because of SIR-NRC. Many people cannot withstand the trauma. It is not that people are dying, they are also destroying the lives of the children who are dependent on them. They are taking away their future. Seven people have died so far, over 100 people have died in Assam because of NRC. Despite this, whatever lies they say you are believing them
If we do something, you will easily catch us because we are common people. But these people are dangerous like the mafia gangs. Why are you doing SIR three months before the polls? Why not do it afterwards? We will provide all cooperation. Even I am not clear if I have to enrol myself in the electoral list again. It is because even if my name is there in 2002, there is uncertainty
Even Abhishek Banerjee did not have his name in the 2002 list. He gave his first vote in 2006. Look what they are doing to the middle class and youth. During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, the voting age was brought down from 21 to 18. It was done in 1989. How will people get their parents’ birth certificates who migrated back then? Do you want to fall prey to this conspiracy? Go to our camps if your names are being removed. Tell them about the issue and get hold of the new documents. Think carefully and do not lose your lives. All lives are important
Many applications have came to us through ‘Amader Para, Amader Samadhan’. We completed all the applications and gave so many caste certificates during our tenure. If you do not have an Aadhaar card, get it from the BSK. Tell the BLO if any of your family members are not at home so they can come at another time. Remember, BLO is the government official and the BLA-2 is from the party. Do not go to fake camps, BJP is very much capable of organising one. Safeguard your own rights
If you do not have the papers, go to the ward offices, municipality offices, or the gram panchayats. If you cannot go anywhere, come to our camps. I want to help you all and all of your names must be there. I cannot decide who you will vote for, but I can help you. We will fight on the streets and in the courts too
It is the people who are the strength in democracy. They bought the media and judiciary, now they think they can buy democracy, hack the EVMs, and remove the voters’ names. It cannot be that rights will be taken away. My vote is my right. Bengal gave its blood and most of the freedom fighters are from Bengal during India’s freedom struggle. Bengal is not afraid. Go and see in the Andaman Cellular Jail, 90% are Bengali and 10% are Punjabi
We have to continue our fight. Do not be afraid of the agencies, all of this is happening because of the elections. Take legal help if required. Remember, if a letter comes from Assam, throw it away. To the Matuas, do not be afraid, Didi is there. I will do whatever I have to do. If they use force to deport you, then many others will also have to face the force. Minorities also need not worry
