‘How can Bengal election be fair when so many genuine voters are left out?’, says Shashi Panja

This house came under attack on March 14. Did you ever deliberation you would personally become a victim of political violence? 

We knew that the BJP is simply a convulsive party, it’s authorities is precise shallow. But this was a new low. It was full hooliganism and they are proud astir what they did. It is shocking and humiliating because I was in my ain house, my political office, and I was putting up governmental banners. I was intelligibly overpowered. What surprises maine astir is the cowardice. You person a woman successful beforehand of you; you can’t come moving with a ceramic and thump it successful her stomach. They did it connected a time erstwhile the Prime Minister was in the city.  

You’re a elder person successful the enactment and three-time MLA and curate arsenic well. What bash you deliberation of the 2026 election and upcoming elections? And however bash you deliberation it is antithetic from the 2021 election? 

If the BJP, which says ‘hum log aarahe hain (we volition travel to power)’, is truthful assured of winning this election, past wherefore did you actually have to bash an SIR (Special Intensive Revision)? You bash a regular intensive revision like you did successful Assam. Why did you person to spell truthful heavy to disenfranchise truthful galore people? That means what you accidental and what you judge is truthful different. If you’re so assured of winning, you don’t have to follow these measures, which is again taking distant rights of the people. They put me; a three-time elected MLA, nether adjudication [after SIR citing logical discrepancies] with what intent? I americium a registered voter. Otherwise, wherefore would I beryllium elected oregon adjacent basal for elections? If they could logically adjudicate me, conscionable what person they done to others? 

We tin outcry and scream, or we tin spell to court, but it takes time. Didi [Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee] went to tribunal implicit SIR. People are getting harassed. But still you’re trying to screen up with a larger communicative to say, ‘Muslims hain, ghuspetiya hain’ (They are Muslims and infiltrators). You see, they [BJP-led Centre] person driven a antithetic benignant of communicative before. It was a disagreement betwixt 2 languages, the Hindi heartland and a Bengali land. But this clip it is different due to the fact that we are going into an predetermination with reduced elector strength. It is unconstitutional. Many bash not cognize what their future is, if they volition get to ballot oregon not. Those who person been adjudicated and deleted are not adjacent alert that they have got deleted. 

 If we take your constituency, Shyampukur in North Kolkata, about 44,000 voters have been deleted, bash you deliberation it is affecting the level playing field?

We each want free and fair elections. But wherever is fairness when you have got rid of truthful galore ineligible voters? And regarding free elections, I mean, it’s so unfortunate. They say we bash Muslim appeasement. But during Ram Navami, we saw people armed with swords, and Ram Ka Bhakti Geeti on DJ remixes. So, it is basically hyper-exhibitionism. The electorate present volition not be like this. 

Even if they delete voters, if they [BJP] tin suffer Ayodhya [in the 2024 Lok Sabha election], they tin suffer anywhere. 

The Trinamool Congress has devised galore women-centric schemes to cater to women voters. Can you elaborate connected that? 

Lakshmi Bhandar is a strategy with a financial incentive; it is hugely popular and has reached over 2.42 crores women. It’s her money. It’s her slope account. It’s a azygous slope account, not a joint account with someone. It gives fiscal literacy and ‘samman’ (respect). Critical gaps tin beryllium addressed with that money. Something that has been copied successful aggregate other States, including the BJP-ruled ones. 

 One of the campaigns that the BJP is highlighting is crimes against women and that women are unsafe successful West Bengal. Now that the BJP has fielded the parent of the R.G. Kar unfortunate [the doc who was raped and murdered successful the State-run infirmary successful 2024], what benignant of governmental messaging is it? 

I was connected the crushed due to the fact that R.G. Kar (Hospital and Medical College) is not precise acold distant from wherever I enactment and besides not acold from my constituency. I am an alumnus of R.G. Kar. So, I person seen those days and nights erstwhile determination was spontaneous outpouring of grief and sympathy for the victim. We faced each of it. 

We besides faced criticism towards us. We had condemned the incident. Who would privation such a thing to happen? Nobody wants it. When the parent of the unfortunate decided to measurement into electoral authorities connected BJP ticket, we person thing to say. It’s her choice. Even erstwhile the incidental happened, we did not evade our responsibilities, astir of each the CM. Kolkata Police arrested the culprit. The CBI could not unearth thing more. It was a Supreme Court-monitored CBI investigation, and we person thing to say. 

Within a period of the incident, the Aparajita Bill [that prescribes decease punishment for rape] was introduced and got cleared by the Vidhan Sabha, but till date it has not been converted into a instrumentality due to the fact that it is awaiting support from the President. Why is that? 

The BJP is sheltering criminals who person committed crimes against women. They garlanded the rapists of Bilkis Bano [2002 Gujarat riots victim]; it is tragic that the parent of Abhaya [RG Kar victim] is expecting justice from this party. It is not astir my rape and your rape. Rape is simply a rape. BJP-ruled States person precocious numbers. We person to get our enactment together.  

BJP is besides warring the elections connected the contented of deficiency of manufacture and formation of capital. There is dissatisfaction among radical connected the crushed astir it. What are your views connected it? 

What investments person the Prime Minister brought on his assorted overseas trips? Nothing has travel in. When Didi came to powerfulness successful 2011, it was a precise difficult time. By then, Bengal aft the Left epoch was already branded arsenic the spot for militant unions, strikes, and large power cuts. We are trying to determination past this era and alteration that impression. We person done aggregate concern summits here. It is not similar industries are not here, determination are. They are generating jobs. We volition enactment connected this further. 

If you travel to powerfulness for the 4th clip successful 2026, what volition be the archetypal happening your authorities volition privation to do?

There is simply a batch of exertion and caller innovations coming up. Mamata Banerjee has a projection for that, and a onshore slope has been identified for it. But predominantly we are an agrarian economy, and it is also an industry that yields employment. All implicit the state we are talking astir unemployment, we are besides grappling with the problem. If the Central authorities paid america the wealth that is owed to us, maybe we could person expanded our programmes here. This is an economical “strangulation”.

We person stopped giving concern incentives due to the fact that radical instrumentality from america and not overmuch is gained from it. People volition travel due to the fact that this is the gateway to East and South-East Asia; we are precise good placed geographically. We volition effort to bash better, we are not saying we are perfect.