KOLKATA — West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, reiterated her allegation that the BJP-led Union government wants to impose the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal through Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“A plan to slap the NRC is being hatched in the name of conducting SIR. Ensure that your name is on the voter’s list. Every individual must have his name on the voter’s list. If anyone’s name is excluded, then bring it to the notice of the concerned authorities. We will stand by those people. We will not tolerate if people are sent to Bangladesh after deleting their names from voters’ list. Indian citizens shouldn’t be branded as Bangladeshis,” Banerjee said.
Speaking to media persons after visiting flood-affected areas in Ghatal of West Midnapore district, the Chief Minister also added that it was the Election Commission of India that planned the idea of the EPIC card.
“Who came up with Aadhaar cards? Crores of rupees were spent to make these cards. Why won’t these cards, along with ration cards, be considered proof of citizenship? It is a planned game by the BJP government at the Centre with the help of the ECI. We do not tolerate this,” CM Banerjee said.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister once again criticised the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for releasing its water to West Bengal and vowed to erect a dam and channel the water back to Jharkhand after coming to power post the 2026 state Assembly polls.
“I come to Ghatal every time. This place witnesses floods everywhere. This time, the DVC has broken all records by releasing water. They do not dredge there. They have not dredged for 20 years. When it rains, water is released into Bengal. After the 2026 state Assembly polls, we will plan how to stop the release of water. It will cost money. But we will also build a dam and then release it somewhere else. We are fed up with taking this pain. This time we will also make a game plan,” CM Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister also hit out at the Union government for its alleged step-motherly attitude towards Bengal.
“Earlier, the Union government used to give money to prevent the erosion of the Ganges. Now we have to do everything by ourselves. I have been telling the Union government about the Ghatal Master Plan for a long time. They have not done anything. It was supposed to be done by them. But we have already made a plan worth Rs 1,500 crore. The work has started. More work will be done after the monsoon season. A committee has been formed,” she said.
She again criticised the BJP for its stance on the Bengali language and Bengali migrant workers.
“Now they (BJP) are saying that Bengali is not a language. Instead, they are demanding that I (Chief Minister) be arrested under the National Security Act for raising these questions. I am speaking in Bengali again. How dare they say that there is no language called Bengali,” she said.
Earlier on Tuesday, CM Banerjee told that West Bengal has registered a 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross GST collections for July 2025.
In a social media post, CM Banerjee said the state collected Rs 5,895 crore in GST revenue last month, up from Rs 5,257 crore in July 2024.
“Glad to share that West Bengal has reported a robust 12 per cent year-on-year growth in gross GST collections for July 2025, recording a collection of Rs 5,895 crore, compared to Rs 5,257 crore in the same month last year, according to provisional figures just released by the Union government,” she said.
“Cumulative growth rate in our state’s GST revenue till July is 7.71 per cent. This marks a steady improvement in business and consumption in West Bengal, which is a sign of good economic health,” CM Banerjee added. –IANS
