Kozhikode (Keralam) [India], April 2 (ANI): BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the incident of seven judicial officers held “hostage” by villagers in Malda district over alleged mass deletions from electoral rolls in Special Intensive Revision (SIR), calling it “the last nail on the TMC coffin”.
Speaking with ANI, he held Trinamool Congress (TMC) responsible for the incident and condemned it for deliberately creating a situation of “lawlessness and constitutional vacuum” in West Bengal ahead of the upcoming assembly polls.
“This is the end of the TMC rule. We are nearing the end of the TMC rule. And as it is said in Sanskrit, ‘Vinasha Kaale Vipreet Buddhi’. The activities of the TMC goons by attacking the judges, by attacking the constitutional functionaries who are doing their duty – the constitutional duty – will be the last nail on the TMC coffin,” Surya said.
He further launched an attack against TMC over its criticism of the SIR of the electoral rolls in the state, and said the exercise has been completely successful everywhere else, other than West Bengal.
“The SIR exercise has been successfully conducted across many states in the country, including in states where the BJP is not in power. Nowhere in any of the states have we seen or heard of news of judges who are in charge of SIR exercises being attacked. This shows the absolute lawlessness and the absolute constitutional vacuum that Mamata Banerjee and the TMC have deliberately created in West Bengal,” Surya said.
Asserting confidence in the BJP’s victory, he claimed that the people will remove the Banerjee-led government, and with the BJP in power, the rule of law will be established in the state.
“Mamata Banerjee will answer this and more questions on the 4th of June, when the people of West Bengal will have given a very clear mandate for change. I have travelled to West Bengal many times. The people of West Bengal want change from the depths of their hearts. And this time in the elections, by giving a huge mandate to the Bharatiya Janata Party, they will remove Mamata Banerjee, and the people themselves will re-establish the constitution and the rule of law in West Bengal,” the BJP MP said.
His remarks come after seven judicial officers, including three women, were held hostage by villagers in Malda district on Wednesday.
The standoff was triggered by mass deletions from the electoral rolls under the ongoing SIR process. The incident was part of a broader wave of protests that paralysed Malda throughout the day, as demonstrators staged road blockades across national and state highways and key rural routes in at least five Assembly constituencies.
Reacting to the issue, the Supreme Court described the Malda incident as a brazen and deliberate attempt to obstruct the administration of justice.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed concern that, despite prior intimation, the State authorities failed to provide prompt protection, leaving the officers without food or water for hours.
The court issued show-cause notices to senior State officials, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and Director-General of Police, asking them to explain their inaction. It directed the Election Commission to requisition and deploy adequate central forces to ensure the safety of judicial officers and the smooth conduct of the SIR adjudication process.
The bench also mandated strict security measures at all venues, restricted public entry, ordered an immediate assessment of threat perceptions to the officers and their families, and required compliance reports. It asked senior officials to be present virtually at the next hearing. (ANI)