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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to sojourn West Bengal's Nadia territory connected Saturday (December 20, 2025), wherever helium volition inaugurate nationalist road projects and code a nationalist rally, amid heightened governmental tensions implicit the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) workout successful the State.
Do not unreserved it: On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls
This would beryllium Mr. Modi’s archetypal sojourn to the State since the draught SIR rolls were published and the 3rd successful the past 5 months.
The Prime Minister, governmental observers said, is apt to code the increasing unease amongst the Matua assemblage members station the work of the draught electoral rolls from his strategically located BJP rally venue successful the Taherpur country of Ranaghat, not acold from the heartland of the Namasudra Hindu assemblage successful adjacent Bongaon.
Mr. Modi is apt to dependable the BJP’s bugle for assembly polls, which are owed successful the State aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth and illustration the people of the party’s docket for the important elections.
“The radical of West Bengal are benefiting from galore pro-people initiatives of the Central government. At the aforesaid time, they are suffering owed to the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) misgovernance successful each sector,” the PM posted connected X connected Friday (December 19) evening portion announcing his visit.
In the day tomorrow, 20th December, I volition code a BJP rally successful Ranaghat. The radical of West Bengal are benefitting from galore pro-people initiatives of the Central Government. At the aforesaid time, they are suffering owed to the TMC's misgovernance successful each sector.
The…
The PM’s sojourn comes astatine a clip erstwhile the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has mounted sustained absorption to the SIR of electoral rolls, alleging that the workout is being carried retired successful “haste” and that a ample fig of genuine voters, peculiarly exile Hindus, hazard disenfranchisement connected its account.
In the draught electoral rolls published aft the enumeration phase, 58,20,899 names person been excluded, reducing the electorate to 7.08 crore. Around 1.36 crore entries person besides been flagged for "logical discrepancies", portion 30 lakh voters person been categorised arsenic unmapped – a important percent of whom are apt to beryllium called for verification hearings implicit the adjacent 45 days.
For Matuas, a Dalit Hindu assemblage that migrated from Bangladesh implicit decades owed to spiritual persecution, this workout has revived anxieties implicit individuality and documentation.
Speculations are rife that important numbers of assemblage members person already been excluded from draught rolls, and galore much are apt to travel suit successful the last rolls connected relationship of the unavailability of the EC-specified indicative documents they request to nutrient successful the eventuality of receiving proceeding notices during the verification phase.
Over the past years, canvass results person indicated that the BJP gained important inroads among assemblage members, promising them ceremonial Indian citizenship.
BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who represents the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, wherever Taherpur is located, claimed that fearfulness was being dispersed deliberately among the Matuas astir SIR.
"We are hopeful that the PM's connection would dispel those fears and canards," helium said.
Stating that radical are “aware astir which enactment wants to assistance citizenship and which enactment is opposing that”, the BJP MP said that the Centre reserves the enactment of making further amendments to the Citizenship Amendment Act [CAA] and marque the process of granting citizenship easier.
“We are hoping that the eligibility deadline of introduction of religiously persecuted radical from neighbouring countries volition beryllium extended from 2014 arsenic stated successful the CAA to 2024. Our PM volition surely look into that aspiration,” Sarkar said.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, however, deed backmost astatine the saffron camp, claiming that the State has already witnessed excessively galore “empty promises from the Prime Minister” and that Mr. Modi’s sojourn to the country was a specified “damage power exercise”.
“We person been listening to repeated citizenship promises for the persecuted Bengalis since 2019. Thanks to the complexities that proceed to persist implicit the CAA, nary of those promises person been fulfilled truthful far,” Mr. Ghosh said.
“On apical of that, the SIR workout has added brackish to the wounds of the Matua community. The PM realises that large harm is done, and that’s wherefore helium is coming for this sojourn successful the anticipation of making immoderate harm control. Like successful erstwhile occasions, this clip excessively the PM is arriving empty-handed,” helium added.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already led anti-SIR rallies successful Nadia and North 24 Parganas, the 2 adjoining districts that stock a borderline with Bangladesh and person a important Matua presence.
During his visit, the PM volition inaugurate and laic the instauration chromatic for 2 nationalist road projects worthy astir ₹3,200 crore.
He volition inaugurate the 66.7-km-long four-laning of the Barajaguli-Krishnanagar conception of NH-34 successful Nadia territory and laic the instauration chromatic for the four-laning of the 17.6-km-long Barasat–Barajaguli conception successful North 24 Parganas district.
The projects are expected to service arsenic a captious connecting nexus betwixt Kolkata and Siliguri, boosting trade, tourism and economical enactment crossed confederate and bluish parts of the State, officials said.
