Bankura, 30 December (H.S.): With just a few months left for the assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched a scathing attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's renewed visit to Bengal. Without naming him, Mamata Banerjee labelled Amit Shah Duryodhan and Dushasan, saying, As soon as elections come, Duryodhan and Dushasan come to Bengal.
At a public rally in Barjora in Bankura on Tuesday, the Chief Minister also bombarded the Central Government and Home Minister with questions on the issue of infiltration. She said, Does infiltration only happen in Bengal? Doesn't it happen in Kashmir? Then who carried out the Pahalgam attack? Who orchestrated the blasts in Delhi? Didn't you do all this?
Notably, earlier this morning, Amit Shah had targeted the Bengal government over infiltration, alleging that the state government was not providing land for erecting barbed wire along the border.
Mamata Banerjee completely rejected Amit Shah's allegations, saying, They come to the state and say that Mamata Banerjee did not provide land. If she had not provided land, how was the Tarakeswar-Bishnupur line built? Where did the land for ECL's coal projects come from? Who provided land in Bangaon, Petrapole, Ghojadanga, Changrabandha—all these places on the India-Bangladesh border?
She also cited the Andal Airport and Panagarh as examples, saying that the state government has provided adequate land for development.
The Chief Minister also strongly criticized the Election Commission regarding the Special Intensive Rivision (SIR) process. She said that the elderly and disabled are being harassed in the name of SIR hearings.
Notices are being sent to 60-70-year-olds. An elderly man died in Purulia. So far, 58-60 people have lost their lives in the SIR process. These people do not respect the elderly and their parents.
The Chief Minister warned that if even a single valid voter's name is removed from the electoral rolls, the National Election Commission office in Delhi will be surrounded.
Referring to the death of 82-year-old Durjan Majhi of Purulia, who was under stress after receiving a SIR hearing notice, Mamata Banerjee blamed the Election Commission. The deceased's family has filed a police complaint against the Chief Election Commissioner and the state's Chief Electoral Officer.
Mamata also hit back at Amit Shah's statement in which he claimed a two-thirds majority in Bengal would be achieved by the BJP in 2026.
Mamata said, You must resign. You, the Home Minister of the country, must resign. Earlier you used to say, 'This time we will cross 200,' but now you are talking about two-thirds of the seats in Bengal. I say, you will be thrown out of the country democratically.
The Chief Minister also criticized the central government over the amended Waqf Act. She clearly stated, Waqf property will not be taken away while we are here. No religious place—temple, mosque, or church—will be allowed to be touched. I do not play politics in the name of religion.
The Chief Minister claimed that the names of more than 5 million voters have been removed in the SIR process. Without naming the Election Commission's IT officer, Seema Khanna, she accused BJP members sitting in Delhi of using AI and IT systems to remove names.
Mamata said, The ERO Association itself has stated that they did not do this. This is a conspiracy.
The Chief Minister appealed to voters whose names have been deleted to fill out Forms 7 and 8, saying, It's your right to be on the electoral roll. Don't give up on it; if necessary, stage a sit-in.
With this rally in Bankura, Mamata Banerjee sent a clear message that the Trinamool Congress is going to take a completely aggressive stance against the central government and the Election Commission on issues such as infiltration, the SIR, the Waqf Act, and the electoral rolls in Bengal before the elections.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey
