‘Citizenship under question’: Mamata alleges NRC is objective behind SIR

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (November 26) asserted that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was the real objective behind the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

Citizenship under threat

Speaking to reporters after garlanding the statue of BR Ambedkar on Red Road in Kolkata to mark Constitution Day, Mamata said people’s citizenship is being questioned after so many years of Independence.

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Earlier, in a post on X, she remarked that when democracy is under threat, secularism is in an “endangered situation”, and federalism is “being bulldozed”, it becomes imperative for people to protect the valuable guidance the Constitution provides.

Mamata said the Constitution is the backbone of the nation, masterfully weaving together the diversity of India's cultures, languages, and communities.

"Today, on this Constitution Day, I pay my deepest respect and tribute to the great Constitution that we have, to the great document that binds us in India. I also pay my tribute today to the visionary framers of our Constitution, especially Dr BR Ambedkar, its principal architect," she said in a post on X.

Calls to safeguard Constitution

Mamata also paid her tributes to the members of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, who "played a crucial role in shaping the Constitution".

"I believe our Constitution is the backbone of our nation that masterfully weaves together the immense diversity of our cultures, languages, and communities into an integrated, federal whole. On this sacred day, we re-affirm our commitment to the core democratic values enshrined in our Constitution and commit to vigilantly safeguard the sacred principles that define and sustain us as a nation," she said.

"Now, when democracy is at stake, when secularism is in an endangered situation, when federalism is being bulldozed, at this critical time, we must protect the valuable guidance that our Constitution provides," she added.

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Constitution Day or Samvidhan Divas commemorates the official adoption of the Indian Constitution on November 26, 1949. The government of India declared November 26 as Constitution Day in 2015.

(With agency inputs)