Arup Roy

If SIR were even remotely well-intentioned, it could have been carried out in the months following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But the Election Commission has abdicated its constitutional duty and surrendered itself to BJP. And the cost of this servitude has already been paid in blood, grief, fear, and the theft of democratic rights. More than 150 lives have been lost. Living citizens have been branded “dead” and erased from electoral rolls. Today, at Banga Bhawan in Chanakyapuri, alongside Smt. Mamata Banerjee, I met families shattered by this reckless process. What exposes the conspiracy even further is the brazen double standard. The draconian rules being imposed in Bengal are not applied in 11 other states. States with higher deletion rates, many ruled by the BJP, saw no deployment of micro-observers. Bengal alone has been inundated with 8,100 micro-observers, an unprecedented number unmatched anywhere in India. Worse, the Election Commission is now openly violating its own framework by empowering these micro-observers, who have no statutory authority, with backend logins that enable deletions at will. When confronted with these facts, the Chief Election Commissioner’s response has been sheer arrogance. BJP and the Election Commission may believe they can mislead 140 crore Indians, but they are gravely mistaken. Bengal is not a state that bows to intimidation. We are built differently. We will resist, we will expose, and we will fight this assault on democracy until justice is served.

In Diamond Harbour, though this chapter of Sebaashray has come to an end, our sacred mission of healing presses onward with unyielding resolve. It moves me deeply to share that, from our health camps in Diamond Harbour, we have referred 11 citizens to the Renuka Eye Institute, where they underwent life-changing cataract surgeries. Emerging from the shadows of age's veil, they now embrace the world with renewed clarity, their eyes alight with boundless gratitude and the exhilaration of rebirth. Each story is a poignant reminder of the power of compassion to restore not just sight, but hope itself. Our pledge to good health for every soul remains etched in stone, an unbreakable vow to uplift, to heal, and to unite. Together, let us carry this mission forward, illuminating Bengal's path with empathy and equity.

Today, at Banga Bhawan in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri, I met victims of the deeply flawed SIR process, families who have lost loved ones and citizens who, despite being alive, have been falsely marked “dead” and erased from the electoral rolls. Their testimonies were heartbreaking. In a democracy, to inflict such suffering on the people, is not just tragic, it is unconscionable. Women, senior citizens, migrant workers, daily wage earners, patients, entire lives have been thrown into chaos by this reckless and inhumane exercise. What is even more alarming is that, without any statutory authority and in violation of the Representation of the People Act, an unprecedented number of micro-observers have been deployed in Bengal to usurp the powers of EROs and AROs. Rules are being rewritten mid-process, technologies misused, and procedures weaponised, all to selectively target Bengal and its people. The BJP has failed to win the trust of the people. It has failed politically. And so it has chosen to hijack a constitutional institution to do what it cannot achieve democratically. But their conspiracies will only strengthen our resolve. We will fight this assault on democracy with every constitutional means at our disposal. We will fight to protect every citizen’s right to vote, to defend Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, and to uphold the sanctity of free and fair elections.

আধুনিক পদার্থবিজ্ঞানের অন্যতম দিকপাল, বাংলার গর্ব, বিজ্ঞানী সত্যেন্দ্রনাথ বসুর প্রয়াণ দিবসে জানাই বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধা।

Day 10 of #Sebaashray2 reinforces a simple but powerful truth: welfare is not a paragraph in a file, it is something that must walk into people’s lives, unasked, unannounced, and unwavering. The day’s outcomes reflect not only the scale of the mission but also the compassion driving it: 🔍 2,783 diagnostic tests were conducted including crucial early checks that catch complications before they become crises. 💊 2,733 people received essential medicines free of cost, ensuring that treatment begins and continues without financial strain. 🩺4,886 residents sat with doctors for detailed consultations, gaining clarity, confidence, and structured follow-up plans. 🏥 40 individuals were identified for advanced intervention and seamlessly connected to specialised care. But Sebaashray 2 is more than a tally of services, It is about rewriting what people expect from governance. And above all, about proving that in Bengal, public service is not an event, it is an ethic.

Day 10 of #Sebaashray2 in Metiaburuz showed with quiet clarity how real governance begins when care finds people before they come searching for it. Across every camp, families, daily-wage workers, and elders received the attention, guidance, and treatment that had been missing from their lives for far too long. Some moments were small, yet deeply telling. Teachers from Akra Shaktigarh Rabindra Vidyapith arrived with their students for routine check-ups, a brief visit, but a powerful reminder that health is not an individual concern; it shapes every age, every aspiration, every classroom dream. Their gratitude wasn’t just a reaction, it was an affirmation of trust in a system that travels to the people, not the other way around. This is the Diamond Harbour Model in motion: governance that is accessible, humane, and proactive. A governance framework where service is not an event but an everyday commitment, where care is not symbolic but sustained, where administration meets people at their doorsteps with dignity and empathy.

ভারতের প্রাক্তন রাষ্ট্রপতি প্রণব মুখোপাধ্যায়ের জন্মদিবসে জানাই বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধা।

বাংলা সাহিত্যের অন্যতম শক্তিশালী ও জনপ্রিয় লেখক সমরেশ বসু-র জন্মদিবসে তাঁকে জানাই আমার অন্তরের শ্রদ্ধা।

ভারতীয় শাস্ত্রীয় সঙ্গীতের এক উজ্জ্বল নক্ষত্র, বিশ্ববরেণ্য সেতার শিল্পী, আমাদের বাংলার গর্ব পন্ডিত রবিশঙ্কর-এর মৃত্যুবার্ষিকীতে জানাই আমার অন্তরের শ্রদ্ধা।

শ্রীশ্রীমা সারদার পুণ্য জন্মতিথিতে তাঁকে জানাই আমার বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধা ও প্রণাম। তিনি আমাদের কাছে পবিত্রতা, সহনশীলতা এবং মাতৃত্বের এক জীবন্ত প্রতীক। আমরা গর্বিত, আমাদের সরকার বাগবাজারে তাঁর স্মৃতি বিজড়িত ভবনের আমূল সংস্কার করতে পেরেছে। শ্রীশ্রীরামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংসদেবের জন্মভূমি কামারপুকুরে রামকৃষ্ণ মঠ ও মিশনের যে কেন্দ্র আছে, সেখানে আমাদের উদ্যোগে একটি অতিথিশালা (সঙ্গে প্রসাদ বিতরণ কেন্দ্র), একটি ওপেন পার্কিং জোন সহ নানা কাজ করে দেওয়া হচ্ছে।

57-year-old Pradeep Kar from 4 Mahajyoti Nagar, Panihati, Khardaha (Ward No. 9) has taken his own life, leaving behind a note that says, “NRC is responsible for my death.” What greater indictment can there be of the BJP’s politics of fear and division? It shakes me to the very core to imagine how, for years, BJP has tormented innocent citizens with the threat of NRC, spreading lies, stoking panic and weaponising insecurity for votes. They have turned constitutional democracy into a draconian law-regime, where people are made to doubt their own right to exist. This tragic death is the direct consequence of BJP’s venomous propaganda. Those who sit in Delhi and preach nationalism have pushed ordinary Indians to such despair that they are dying in their own land, fearing they will be declared ‘FOREIGNERS’. I demand that the Central Government stop this heartless game once and for all. Bengal will never allow NRC, and never allow anyone to strip our people of their dignity or belonging. Our soil belongs to Maa, Mati, Manush, not to those who thrive on hate. Let the Delhi Zamindars hear this loud and clear: Bengal will resist, Bengal will protect and Bengal will prevail.

Heartfelt greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of Jagaddhatri Pujo. May Maa Jagaddhatri inspire us with the strength and wisdom to face life’s trials with courage and compassion. May Her divine blessings fill every home with peace, prosperity, and lasting happiness. Wishing everyone a joyous and blessed Jagaddhatri Pujo.

We are witnessing the tragic consequences of the BJP’s politics of fear, division and hate. Within 72 hours of the Election Commission’s announcement of the SIR exercise in Bengal - An exercise bulldozed through at the BJP’s behest. One avoidable tragedy after another has occurred. On October 27, 57-year-old Pradeep Kar of Panihati, Khardaha died by suicide, leaving a note that read, “NRC is responsible for my death.” On October 28, a 63-year-old man from Dinhata, Cooch Behar attempted to take his life, terrified of harassment under the SIR process. And today, 95-year-old Khitish Majumder from Kotwali, Paschim Medinipur living with his daughter in Ilambazar, Birbhum ended his life, gripped by the fear that he and his family might be dispossessed of their land. Who will answer for these avoidable, politically inflicted tragedies? Will the Home Minister accept responsibility? Will the BJP and its allies, under whose watch this fear psychosis has spread, find the courage to speak out? A 95-year-old man, who has given his life to this soil, forced to die to prove he belongs to it. What could be a deeper wound on the nation’s conscience? This is not just tragedy- It is betrayal of humanity itself. For generations, the people of Bengal have lived with dignity. Today they are being forced to ask whether they still belong to the land of their birth. This cruelty is unconscionable and must not be allowed to stand. I appeal to every citizen: Do not be provoked, do not lose faith, and do not take any extreme step. Our Maa-Mati-Manush Sarkar stands with you. We will not allow the NRC to be implemented in Bengal - neither through the front door, nor through the back door. We will not permit a single legitimate citizen to be branded an “outsider.” Until the last drop of our blood, we will fight to protect the rights of the people and to defeat the BJP and their allies’ nefarious agenda to tear apart the social fabric of our nation.

Bengal, our beloved motherland, is being hounded, humiliated, maligned, and vilified by Bohiragoto Bangla-Birodhi Zamindars who thrive on lies and propaganda, increasingly in the digital space where the battle now rages. It is upon us to stand up for Bengal’s rights, dignity, and truth, to fight back with clarity and conviction. That’s why I am launching ‘Ami Banglar Digital Joddha’, a people-powered, youth-led digital movement to protect Bengal’s identity, uphold its truth, and carry its message of pride and progress to every corner of India and the world. To every young person who refuses to let Bengal be slandered, this is your clarion call. Join as a Digital Joddha. Strengthen Bengal’s future. Register by using the link below and let the world witness what Bengal can achieve when its people rise as one 👇 ABDigitalJoddha.com

সাধারণ গ্রন্থাগার দিবস এ হাওড়া জেলা গ্রন্থাগার ভবনে উপস্থিত থাকতে পেরে আনন্দিত। জ্ঞানচর্চা ও পাঠাভ্যাসই সমাজের প্রকৃত আলোকবর্তিকা।

পুলিশ দিবসে দেশের প্রতিটি পুলিশ কর্মীকে জানাই আন্তরিক কৃতজ্ঞতা ও শ্রদ্ধা। তাঁদের ত্যাগ, সাহস ও নিষ্ঠাই আমাদের নিরাপত্তার শক্ত ভিত।

ফুটবলের জাদুকর শৈলেন মান্নার জন্মদিনে জানাই বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধা। ভারতীয় ফুটবলে তাঁর অবদান আজও আমাদের গৌরবের ধ্বজ।

ভারতবর্ষের প্রাক্তন রাষ্ট্রপতি মাননীয় শ্রী প্রণব মুখোপাধ্যায়ের প্রয়াণ দিবসে শ্রদ্ধা নিবেদন করি।

বিশিষ্ট চলচ্চিত্র নির্মাতা ঋতুপর্ণ ঘোষের জন্ম দিবসে শ্রদ্ধার্ঘ্য।

শহিদ নূরুল ইসলামের পরিবার-সহ খাদ্য আন্দোলনের সকল শহিদকে জানাই বিনম্র শ্রদ্ধাঞ্জলি। তাঁদের আত্মত্যাগ আমাদের গণতান্ত্রিক অধিকার রক্ষার সংগ্রামে চিরস্মরণীয় হয়ে থাকবে।