Kolkata, Oct. 30 -- Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Thursday delivered a sharp rebuke to the BJP, accusing it of plunging citizens into despair through "the politics of fear, division, and hate." Her remarks came in the wake of two tragic deaths that followed the Election Commission of India's (ECI) announcement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.

A day after a 57-year-old man committed suicide over NRC fears, Bengal was jolted again when a 95-year-old from Birbhum district allegedly took his own life, his family blaming the ongoing SIR process of the electoral roll for pushing him to 'despair'.

"He was scared of losing his land and property as his name does not figure in the 2002 electoral roll," the man's granddaughter reportedly stated on Thursday.

With an emotional appeal, Banerjee urged people to hold on to courage and composure, saying no one should be driven to such extremes. "No citizen should feel so helpless in their own land," she said, calling for peace and restraint amid the growing climate of anxiety.

In a post on X, Banerjee once again assured that her government will not allow the NRC to be implemented in Bengal.

"I appeal to every citizen: Do not be provoked, do not lose faith, and do not take any extreme step. Our Maa-Mati-Manush Sarkar stands with you. We will not allow the NRC to be implemented in Bengal-neither through the front door, nor through the back door. We will not permit a single legitimate citizen to be branded an outsider," Banerjee wrote.

"Until the last drop of our blood, we will fight to protect the rights of the people and to defeat the BJP and their allies' nefarious agenda to tear apart the social fabric of our nation," she added.

On October 27, a 57-year-old man from Panihati in North 24-Parganas allegedly committed suicide out of NRC fear. On October 28, another elderly citizen from Dinhata in Cooch Behar attempted suicide after being terrified of harassment under the SIR process. On Thursday, a 95-year-old Khitish Majumder ended his life in Birbhum's Illambazar.

"We are witnessing the tragic consequences of the BJP's politics of fear, division and hate. Within 72 hours of the Election Commission's announcement of the SIR exercise in Bengal-an exercise bulldozed through at the BJP's behest-one avoidable tragedy after another has occurred," the Bengal Chief Minister wrote on X.

She questioned who would take the responsibility for these "politically inflicted tragedies".

"Who will answer for these avoidable, politically inflicted tragedies? Will the Union home minister accept responsibility? Will the BJP and its allies, under whose watch this fear psychosis has spread, find the courage to speak out?" Banerjee asked in her social media post.

The Bengal Chief Minister, who has long opposed the NRC, cautioned that rushing through the SIR process could have far-reaching repercussions, urging the Election Commission to act with greater sensitivity and care.

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