Barrackpore, 31 January (H.S.): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government, stating that the massive fire at the Wow Momo factory and warehouse in Kolkata's Anandapur area was not a mere accident but a consequence of the rampant corruption in the state administration. Shah, who is on a visit to Bengal ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, made these allegations while addressing a BJP workers' conference in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas.

Amit Shah claimed that 25 people died in the fire, while 27 are still missing. He questioned the Mamata government, asking why the accident occurred, whose money was invested in the factory, who the owner is, and why he has not been arrested yet. Shah alleged that the government's attitude would have been different if the deceased were infiltrators, but since Bengali citizens lost their lives, the government is playing politics over the issue.

The Home Minister demanded an impartial and judicial inquiry into the fire incident, stating that those responsible should be sent to jail. He alleged that when BJP leaders and workers went to meet the affected families and staged protests, the police subjected them to brutality. Shah said that the Anandapur incident clearly indicates the involvement of people associated with the TMC, and the government is trying to cover up the matter.

Shah categorically stated that if the BJP forms the government in Bengal after the 2026 assembly elections, a fair investigation into the entire matter will be conducted, and the culprits will not be spared. Speaking on electoral politics, he claimed that the BJP received 38 percent of the votes in 2021, and next time the party will come to power with more than 50 percent of the vote share. Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, Shah said that Mamata Banerjee is under the illusion of making her nephew the Chief Minister, which will soon be shattered.

Shah assured the Matua community that no one's name would be removed from the voter list under the pretext of SIR (Special Intensive Revision). He reiterated that no matter what the TMC does, the SIR process will continue, and elections will be held only on the basis of a completely transparent voter list.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey