Kolkata, Sept. 27 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday accused the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress (MAITC) and CPI(M) of developing a nexus inside the Assembly and joining hands on the streets over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

At a press meet at the state BJP headquarters, Adhikari alleged that the two parties were creating confusion over SIR and attempting to undermine the mandate delivered by voters in the recent Assembly polls.

"You are unable to accept the mandate as you lost the Assembly polls completely. So your men are unable to step out. We are increasing the probe against corruption," he said.

Adhikari claimed the Opposition's criticism of SIR was aimed at questioning the Election Commission's credibility and, consequently, the electoral verdict. He said criticism of the exercise should not be used to question the people's mandate.

Referring to a recent Serampore meeting, he claimed there were hardly 150 people, against 170 policemen and 200 media personnel.

He said SIR was a collective decision of the Election Commission and the Supreme Court, not the Chief Election Commissioner alone, followed by an appeal by the Trinamool Congress. He also said the exercise had proceeded under judicial scrutiny.

Referring to around 27 lakh names at the centre of the controversy, Adhikari said SIR could not be portrayed simply as an exercise controlled by the BJP or Election Commission.

His sharpest attack was on what he described as an emerging Mamata TMC-CPI(M) understanding. "Trinamool was born out of opposition to the CPI(M). Today, the same Trinamool is politically aligned with the CPI(M), which exists in outer space," he said.

He questioned the scale of anti-SIR mobilisation, citing the Srirampur meeting and claiming its turnout did not match the political claims surrounding it.

Adhikari also accused the Opposition of selectively opposing SIR in West Bengal and Bihar while remaining comparatively silent in Kerala, where a similar electoral-roll revision has become a political issue. He challenged the TMC, Congress and Left parties to mount a similar campaign there if their objection was to SIR itself.

He alleged the campaign was also being used to divert attention from investigations and legal proceedings involving recruitment, housing, coal, sand and cattle-smuggling cases.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.