Remove non-biological PM too: Trinamool MP's taunt amid Bihar poll roll revision

In a fresh broadside against the BJP over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee sarcastically demanded that the "non-biological" Prime Minister should be excluded from the list of eligible voters.

Speaking at an event in West Bengal’s Hooghly district, Banerjee referenced PM Modi’s past comments about being “sent by God,” a remark that has since been used by several opposition leaders to mock the Prime Minister.

“If PM Modi is non-biological and he is born spiritually as like Goddesses Kali, Durga and Lord Ram, then PM Modi is also not the Citizen of India. So his name should also be removed from the voter list,” Banerjee jibed.

His taunt stems from a 2024 interview in which PM Modi said, “Until my mother was alive, I used to think I was born biologically. After her demise, when I look at my experiences, I am convinced that I was sent by God... I'm nothing but an instrument that God has sent.”

Kalyan Banerjee’s remarks came amid an escalating row over the SIR process in Bihar, which opposition parties have slammed as an attempt to disenfranchise voters ahead of the assembly elections later this year. The first week of Parliament’s Monsoon session was a washout due to repeated disruptions over the issue, as the Opposition demanding an immediate halt to the exercise.

Trinamool supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also opposed the revision drive, calling it “nothing short of a scam.” Echoing her, Kalyan Banerjee alleged that the SIR was designed to help the BJP manipulate the electoral process.

“Earlier, the voters used to decide the government of the country... Now the government of the country is deciding who can vote or not. No one's name will be in the voter list except BJP or BJP people... Election Commission is also the same,” Banerjee said.

The senior Trinamool leader questioned the logic of house-to-house verification being undertaken as part of the SIR.

“What is the point of going from house to house and checking the voter list... If I don’t stay in my house at that time, then my name will be removed from the voter list. How does that make any sense?” he jibed.

Opposition parties in Bihar have claimed that crores of eligible voters, especially minorities and the marginalised, could be struck off the rolls due to a lack of required documentation. They have accused the BJP of using state machinery to target voters who are likely to support rival parties.

The BJP has defended the SIR as a standard administrative exercise aimed at cleaning up voter rolls. However, the timing and scale of the revision have triggered political pushback just months ahead of the Bihar elections.

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