Murshidabad, Dec. 4 -- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP, alleging that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, initiated just months before the polls, has claimed 40 lives and is being used to destabilise the state government.

Announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those hospitalised, Banerjee accused the Centre of selectively implementing SIR in non-BJP-ruled states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

"Due to SIR, 40 people have died. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh has been announced. For those in the hospital, the amount is Rs 1 lakh... Just so that the State government could not function, SIR was declared just t...