Kolkata, 21 March (H.S.): Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday strongly criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an “infiltrator”, calling the remark unacceptable and a misuse of a religious platform.

Adhikari’s reaction came after Banerjee attended an Eid gathering at Red Road in Kolkata, where she launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Modi. She also reiterated her commitment to stand by the people of West Bengal. Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee was also present at the event.

Speaking on the issue, Adhikari said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents the entire country and not just a particular political party. He added that the Prime Minister belongs to all citizens, irrespective of religion, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. He termed the use of such language against the Prime Minister as condemnable and said the Kolkata Khilafat Committee should officially take note of the matter and issue a written response.

He further claimed that a “wave of political change” is emerging in West Bengal and asserted that this trend is unlikely to be reversed.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had accused the BJP-led Central government of attempting to deprive people of their voting rights through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. She alleged that the process had resulted in large-scale deletion of voters’ names and could be part of a broader attempt to influence the electoral process.

Meanwhile, several states are scheduled to go to the polls in April. Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will vote on April 9, while Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on April 23. In West Bengal, the first phase of Assembly elections will be held on April 23, followed by the second phase on April 29. The counting of votes for all these states is scheduled for May 4.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh