New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday escalated her criticism of the BJP-led Central government, firmly pledging to prevent anyone from stripping the people of Bengal of their voting rights.

Speaking at the foundation day event of the Trinamool Congress student wing, Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), held at Mayo Road in central Kolkata, Banerjee reiterated her accusation that the Centre is conspiring to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) under the guise of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

“The BJP has deployed over 500 teams from across the country in West Bengal to conduct surveys aimed at removing voters from the electoral rolls. You must check if your name still appears on the voter list. Ensure you have your Aadhaar cards. I will not let anyone take away people’s voting rights as long as I live,” she declared.

The Chief Minister also alleged that the Election Commission has been intimidating state government officials by issuing directives beyond its mandate.

“The Election Commission’s authority extends only to the three months during elections, not year-round. But their real agenda is something else; they want to conduct the NRC disguised as voter list revision. I won’t allow that to happen,” Banerjee asserted.

Without naming anyone directly, she accused certain groups of financing films intended to malign Bengal, alluding to the recent controversy over the trailer launch of Vivek Agnihotri’s film The Bengal Files, which Kolkata Police halted.

“Money is being spent on films to defame Bengal. The BJP wants people to forget the crucial role Bengalis played during the freedom movement. We will not tolerate this linguistic terror,” she said.

Banerjee also criticised the CPI-M-led Left, accusing them of aligning with the BJP against the Trinamool Congress.

“The CPI-M government in Kerala claims that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose fled the country out of fear of the British. We condemn this. They are joining hands with the BJP to oppose us,” she stated.

She further criticised certain individuals and opposition parties for resorting to legal action to obstruct her government’s functioning.

“I regret the delay in the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination results. Those taking the matter to court are obstructing the process. You cannot challenge us politically, so you are trying to fight us through backdoor tactics. You are holding back appointments,” she said.

In a lighter announcement, the Chief Minister revealed she is writing a book about the Prime Ministers she has encountered during her political career, which is slated for release at the International Kolkata Book Fair next year.

“I have seen many Prime Ministers. I will write about their true nature. The country needs to know,” she said.

Banerjee also disclosed that funding for researchers at Burdwan University had been halted by the Vice Chancellor, who was appointed by the West Bengal Governor. Upon learning this, she intervened to restore the grants.

“I found out that the Vice Chancellor was appointed by the Governor. Once I knew, I restarted the funding for researchers,” she added.

(With Inputs from IANS)