Union Home Minister Amit Shah and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Credit: PTI Photos
Kolkata: Amit Shah and Mamata Banerjee had a war of words on Tuesday, with the Union Home Minister accusing the Chief Minister of West Bengal of facilitating the illegal migration from Bangladesh, while she asked for his resignation for his failure to curb infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan and prevent terrorist attacks in India.
Shah alleged that Mamata’s Trinamool Congress government was endangering the national security of India by facilitating illegal migration from Bangladesh and allowing them to settle down in West Bengal for vested political interests.
Mamata, on the other hand, sought to turn the tables on Shah, tacitly referring to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, and the November 10 explosion near Red Fort in Delhi. She blamed him for failing to stop the infiltration of the terrorists from Pakistan and areas illegally occupied by Pakistan into Kashmir.
Mamata’s nephew and the TMC general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, also hit back at Shah, calling him the “most unsuccessful Union Home Minister” India had after it had attained its Independence. “Only Bhaipo (nephew) has the right to make money, not the common man,” Shah had targeted Abhishek earlier in the day.
“Infiltration happening along the (India-Bangladesh) borders (in West Bengal) is not an issue limited only to the state. It is now a matter of national security. We have to save the culture of the country,” Shah told journalists in Kolkata, adding that illegal migration from neighbouring Bangladesh to India had “dangerously changed the demography” of West Bengal.
“If we have to ensure the safety of our country, we need a patriotic government here which will seal the borders. Mamata Banerjee cannot do this, only the BJP can.”
Shah arrived in Kolkata on Monday for a three-day visit, primarily to review the BJP’s preparations for the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal.
The BJP’s chief poll strategist said that the infiltration of illegal migrants from across the border would be the key poll issue of the saffron party in West Bengal.
He not only accused the TMC government of abetting illegal migration from Bangladesh to India, but also promised that when the BJP would come to power in West Bengal after winning two-thirds seats in the 294-member state assembly in April 2026, a “strong national grid” would be built to ensure that not even a bird would not be able to cross over from the neighbouring country, let alone humans.
“Our government in West Bengal will not only stop the infiltration, but it will also identify every illegal migrant one by one and drive them out of the country,” he said.
The Chief Minister hit back at the Union Home Minister while speaking at a rally in Bankura a few hours later.
“Does infiltration happen only in Bengal? Does it not happen in Kashmir? An incident took place in Delhi some days ago. Are infiltrators present nowhere except Bengal?” So, was it you who did it?” Mamata said, demanding Shah's resignation as the Union Home Minister. “Why is this state being blamed all the time for infiltration when a terror attack happened in Jammu and Kashmir, and a blast took place in New Delhi?”
Mamata reiterated her allegation that the Election Commission had conducted the Special Intensive Review of the electoral rolls in West Bengal only to ensure an advantage for the BJP in the coming assembly polls.
“Today, Dushasan has come to Bengal. Whenever elections are around, Duryodhan and Dushasan land here,” the chief minister said, invoking the Mahabharata. She apparently referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Duryodhan” and the Union Home Minister as “Dushashan”.