West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a rally to allay the Matua community's fears about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
“I am making this prediction... the BJP will be defeated in the Gujarat elections. To win Bengal, they will lose Gujarat,” she said while addressing the crowd in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas district.
VIDEO | North 24 Paraganas: "If BJP tries to strike me in Bengal, I will shake its foundation across India", says CM Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) at anti-SIR rally in Bongaon.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 25, 2025
(Source: Third Party)
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/vvHuE2l9lm
Mamata held a public meeting at Tirkone Park after which she reached Chandpara, a few kilometres away to walk with the people. This is Mamata's second anti-SIR rally that Mamata chose to walk with the masses she seeks to send out a strong message that she is here to allay the fears of people in the state, including the Matuas. The Matuas are a Hindu minority community, most of who trace their ancestral roots to Bangladesh.
“I want to give you assurance. Do not get scared. We will not allow you to be thrown out as long as I am in Bengal. BJP is trying to create fear among you,” said Mamata while addressing the Matua dominant rally. The Matuas fled Bangladesh after facing persecution, some when the country was part of Pakistan and others who fled after the Bangladesh liberation in 1971.
“If illegal immigrants staying in the bordering districts, then I want to ask who is responsible for the borders? The airports and customs are all under the Centre,” said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo.
She accused the BJP of misleading the Matua community, slamming the saffron party-backed Matua Sangha for issuing religious cards in exchange of money. “We are waiting for the draft list to come. Then we will help you with list of all other documents, so that no genuine voter gets deleted,” the CM assured them.
The Matuas comprise almost 17 per cent of the scheduled caste population in West Bengal with votes divided amongst the BJP and TMC. The BJP has a strong hold on the community with its Bongaon MP Shantanu Thakur having a huge support while Mamata Bala Thakur is the TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP working for the welfare of Matuas.
With Mamata Banerjee coming to Bongaon, TMC supporters from the Matua community were happy with the party supremo’s visit to their region. “We are very happy that she came for us, and she is fighting for us,” said Amal Mondal, a TMC supporter.
Many people do not have documents to prove their citizenship while others don't have their names in the 2002 SIR list.
Debabrata Das, a farmer from Thakurbari, said, “I did not vote in 2002. My family came here before 2000 but we didn’t get our identity documents. We have submitted our forms to the BLO.”
Litton Rai, another person from Thakurbari, said, “We are not against SIR. We want assurance. There are 11 documents listed, many don’t have any of these papers. Why should SIR happen this way? Mamata is here and we are very happy.”
Mamata also accused the BJP of trying to sabotage her rally after her helicopter trip was cancelled due to an expired licence. This prompted Mamata to reach the venue by road one-and-a-half hours later.
