Abhishek Banerjee's Murshidabad Rally: Voting Rights Promise and BJP Allegations

Abhishek Banerjee pledges to reinstate voting rights and accuses rivals of colluding with the BJP during a rally in Murshidabad, West Bengal, highlighting the upcoming election's stakes.

Photograph: ANI on X

Key Points

Abhishek Banerjee accuses political rivals of being 'agencies' of the BJP in West Bengal's Murshidabad district.
Banerjee promises to restore voting rights to disenfranchised citizens within one month if the TMC returns to power.
He criticises the Chief Election Commissioner for allegedly removing voting rights from the poor.
Banerjee targets Humayun Kabir, referencing a viral video and past discussions about the Babri Masjid.
Banerjee takes personal responsibility for the development of Murshidabad, aiming for a 22-0 sweep in the upcoming election.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday labelled political rivals as "agencies" of the BJP and promised to restore voting rights of disenfranchised citizens within a month of returning to power.

Addressing a rally here, Banerjee identified three "agencies" allegedly working to undermine people and strengthen the BJP in West Bengal's Murshidabad district -- Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and politician Humayun Kabir.

He accused Kumar of "taking away voting rights" of the poor under the guise of logical discrepancies in electoral rolls, and warned that a weakened TMC would hurt them more than the party.

"If the TMC is weak in this soil, the loss for you (locals) is much more than the loss for TMC," he said.

Accusations Against Humayun Kabir

Banerjee trained his heaviest fire on Kabir, referencing a viral video allegedly showing the Aam Janata Unnayan Party chief demanding Rs 1,000 crore.

"Not for the mothers and brothers of Murshidabad, not for roads, not for housing, but to put in his own pocket," he alleged.

He further claimed the purported video showed Kabir describing Muslims as "very foolish" and easily misled.

Dismissing Kabir's claim that the video was AI-generated, Banerjee asked: "If it is an AI-generated video, why did Pirzada Khobayeb Amin resign? And why did Asaduddin Owaisi of AIMIM leave your side?"

The TMC leader also mentioned a past exchange over the Babri Masjid, claiming Kabir had met and told him he would "only lay the bricks and then throw them away."

Banerjee claimed that he had told Kabir, "TMC does not do politics with religion. The BJP is doing politics with the Ram Mandir, and you are doing politics with Babri Masjid. Where is the difference? If you have to build the Babri Masjid, do it. You retire from politics. Both cannot happen together."

Pledge to Restore Voter Rights

On the restoration of voter rights, Banerjee assured those dropped from electoral rolls would get their voting rights back within one month of the "Ma Mati Manush" government taking charge on May 4.

"You are citizens of this country, citizens of this state. No one should be worried or panicked," he said.

Development Promises for Murshidabad

Targeting a 22-0 sweep in Murshidabad, up from the party's 20-0 result in 2021, Banerjee took personal responsibility for the district's development, citing several projects he described as "repayment for the debt of love".

"The responsibility for the development of all 22 seats is mine. I am fulfilling the debt of love through development," he declared.

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