West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she "loves Bangladesh as a country, because their language is the same". She sharply criticised the BJP-led central government and the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll, warning that this entire process must not be carried out in a rush before the 2026 Assembly polls.

While speaking at an anti-SIR rally in Bongaon, she told the crowd, "If your name gets deleted, the central government should also be deleted."

She referred to the claim that the aim of the SIR is to remove Bangladeshi nationals from the voter list. She asked why the same exercise was taking place in several BJP-ruled states as well, and she openly questioned the real purpose of this revision.

"I love Bangladesh as a country, because our language is the same. I am from Birbhum, but one day they will call me Bangladeshi. PM Modi got votes in 2024 as per the same list. If your name gets deleted, the central government should also be deleted. Why conduct SIR in such a hurry?" she said.

"Till I am here, I will not allow them to throw you out. Nobody can throw you out. If Bangladeshi is a problem, then why are you conducting SIR in Madhya Pradesh and UP?" she asked.

She said she has no fear of the ruling party and stated, "BJP cannot fight and defeat me politically," while accusing the Centre of using the SIR to target voters.

She extended a conditional support and said, "If SIR is conducted over two to three years, we will support the exercise with every possible resource."

The chief minister accused the Election Commission of losing its fairness and said that the "EC is no longer an impartial body, it has turned into a ‘BJP Commission’."

She said that people would later understand the "disaster" caused by the EC and the BJP once the draft voter list comes out after the SIR. She asked, "Does conducting SIR in BJP-ruled states imply the Centre accepts ‘ghuspaithiyas’ exist there?"

Her comments come when the Election Commission has started the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision across twelve states and Union Territories.

The final electoral roll will be published on February 7, 2026. The first phase was done in Bihar before its Assembly elections.

The ongoing phase includes Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.