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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday (October 29, 2025) accused the Opposition, particularly the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, of opposing the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to safeguard their “vote bank”, alleging that they were engaging in “hypocrisy and appeasement politics”. Addressing a press briefing, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Opposition had become a “symbol of hypocrisy” as it was “professing loyalty to the Constitution while pursuing vote-bank politics”. He alleged that the Congress, which, he said, once sympathised with Pakistan, had now turned into “an admirer of Bangladesh”. “Singing Bangladesh’s National Anthem from a Congress stage in Assam (Sribhumi) is the latest proof of this,” Mr. Poonawalla alleged, adding that the Congress and its leaders had “long supported Bangladeshi infiltrators”, thereby “endangering the nation’s unity and security”. The BJP leader claimed that a “recent provocative attempt” to depict India’s northeastern region as belonging to another country “exposed the persistent mindset aimed at dividing India”. He said both the Congress and the Trinamool Congress were opposing the SIR exercise, a constitutional exercise conducted by the Election Commission, “solely to protect their vote bank”. In West Bengal, Trinamool leaders were openly threatening the Election Commission and BJP workers, he alleged. Mr. Poonawalla accused some Trinamool leaders of “talking about riots against SIR”, also targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the matter. “She holds direct responsibility for law and order in Bengal as the State’s Home Minister,” he added. “One party, the Congress, openly supports Bangladeshi infiltrators, while the other, the Trinamool, conspires and issues threats to keep outsiders on the voter list by fomenting riots,” the BJP leader alleged. The BJP leader said the Congress had “consistently supported Bangladeshi infiltrators over the years, with the UPA era witnessing systematic settlement of crores of illegal immigrants”. “From Sam Pitroda to Syeda Hameed and Ghulam Mir, Congress leaders have made statements in support of infiltrators,” he said. He said infiltration had “largely ceased”, except in parts of Bengal, where most of the India-Bangladesh border was now fenced. “It was the Congress government that provided these infiltrators with valid IDs and residence proof... now, when the NDA government follows the 3D policy — detect, delete, and deport illegal infiltrators — the Congress responds with its own 3D policy — divide, distort, and defend illegals,” he said. “Whether it is Trinamool Congress, Congress, or DMK, they are all engaged in the politics of competitive appeasement,” Mr. Poonawalla said.
