Thu Jul 17 22:50:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summary and rewrite based on the provided text:

**Summary:**

The CPI(M)’s West Bengal State Secretary, Md Salim, has accused the central government of using the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Electoral Roll revision to disenfranchise marginalized people, particularly Bengali speakers, across India. He alleges this is part of a larger strategy by the BJP and RSS to target and “other” Bengalis, labeling them as illegal immigrants and stripping them of their democratic rights. This comes amidst rising tensions over the targeting of Bengali migrants in BJP-ruled states, prompting protests from West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The opposition in West Bengal is simultaneously calling for a similar voter list revision within the state.

**News Article:**

**Controversy Erupts Over Voter Roll Revision: CPI(M) Accuses Government of Targeting Bengalis**

**Kolkata – July 18, 2025** – A political firestorm is brewing in West Bengal over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Electoral Roll revision, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) launching sharp criticism against the central government. CPI(M) West Bengal State Secretary Md Salim has accused the government of using the SIR as a tool to disenfranchise marginalized communities, specifically Bengali-speaking individuals across the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata on Thursday, Salim alleged that the SIR is a deliberate strategy to remove marginalized people from voter lists, effectively stripping them of their democratic rights. “This attack on Bengalis across the country is an attack on the diversity, democracy, and unity of our country,” he stated, adding that labeling Bengali speakers as Rohingya refugees or Bangladeshis is a form of “othering” and persecution.

Salim further accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of actively targeting Bengalis, pushing them out of BJP-ruled states, and even across international borders. He also pointed to the irony of the government persecuting partition refugees now, after previously housing them in the partition crisis. He warns that once one is affected, all communities will soon be affected.

The controversy comes amid heightened tensions over reports of Bengali migrant workers facing discrimination and violence in states like Odisha, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led protests in Kolkata on Wednesday, denouncing the targeting of Bengali migrants.

“The poor who go to work outside… They will be made to work and then sent to jail if they speak in Bengali. Why?” Banerjee stated, vowing to protect Bengali identity.

While the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has seized upon the issue of Bengali identity, the opposition, led by Suvendu Adhikari, is demanding a similar thorough revision of the voter list in West Bengal, mirroring the exercise underway in other states like Bihar. The political tussle underscores the sensitivity surrounding issues of identity and citizenship in the region, raising concerns about the fairness and inclusivity of the electoral process.

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