Diamond Harbour, Dec 1 (PTI) TMC Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charge that the opposition was turning Parliament into a stage for "drama", asserting that demanding accountability on the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise and other governance issues cannot be dismissed as theatrics.

Banerjee's remarks came hours after the Prime Minister, speaking to reporters outside Parliament ahead of the winter session, said the House was "not a place for drama but for delivery", describing the opposition's conduct as a "warm-up arena" for elections, and even offering to give them "tips to bring positivity in politics".

Responding sharply, the TMC MP said the opposition had only sought a formal debate on the SIR exercise, which he claimed had already led to "around 40 deaths, including BLOs", because of alleged procedural lapses.

He asserted that the opposition was working well within the legal framework in choosing to ask questions to the government.

"What the opposition is asking for is a debate on SIR. Is that drama? If raising people's voice is drama, then the people will give them a befitting reply in the next election," the TMC national general secretary said at the launch of the second phase of free health camps – Sebaashray – at his Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency.

Blaming the Election Commission for what he called an "unplanned and glitch-ridden" voter list revision process, Banerjee said BLOs were neither trained nor equipped to handle the workload.

"The EC didn't train BLOs. It didn't fix the glitches. The voter roll isn't updated. Forty people have died due to an unplanned SIR. Where is the accountability from the government?" he asked.

Banerjee accused the BJP of evading responsibility in various sectors. He also questioned demonetisation and alleged border breaches by foreign saboteurs in the past to stress on the opposition’s need to raise questions in Parliament.

"People stood in queues during demonetisation 10 years back. The black money flow has increased. Where is the accountability? Blasts are happening, and terrorists are entering the country. Again, where is the accountability?" he said.

Banerjee insisted that the opposition was functioning "within the legal framework" by questioning the government and the poll panel.

"Just because they have won a few states doesn't mean they are not answerable to the people. The same people will remove them from power if they continue on this path of non-accountability,” the Diamond Harbour MP said.

"We are raising questions on Pahalgam, on the 40 deaths linked to SIR, and the BJP thinks this is drama? We are not against SIR, but against the method and the way it is being executed," Banerjee said.

Questioning the EC’s decision to not hold SIR in the northeastern states, he alleged that the poll panel’s “intentions” behind conducting the exercise were contrary to its claims.

“If the idea is to identify illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in this country and deport them, then why is SIR only being conducted in Bengal and not in Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya, which also share borders with Bangladesh?” he asked.

“The BJP claims that the SIR will identify one crore Rohingyas living in Bengal. But it doesn’t share borders with Myanmar. The states which do – Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur – are not having SIR. Had the EC been serious about identifying foreigners, it would have started the SIR exercise from these states as they provide the entry points to outsiders. And when we seek discussion on these matters, the PM says the opposition is doing drama!” Banerjee said. The TMC MP also provided year-on-year figures from 2017-18 to 2023-24 fiscals to claim that the Centre collected over Rs 6.5 lakh crore from Bengal in the last seven years through direct and indirect taxes.

“Despite collecting the sum, it has withheld Bengal's financial entitlements of Rs 2 lakh crore. The EC has recently enhanced the remuneration of BLOs from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 and passed on the expenditure burden to the shoulders of the state.

“As my party’s general secretary, I urge the EC to write to the Centre to release the money it has deprived the state’s poor people of. I promise that the government will enhance the BLO remuneration to Rs 60,000 if the commission even writes that letter, irrespective of its outcome,” Banerjee declared. Stressing that accountability "cannot be optional in a democracy", the senior TMC leader said the opposition would continue pressing for answers inside and outside Parliament. PTI PNT BDC SMY RBT