Mamata wouldn't have become Bengal CM had Nandigram stir not taken place: BJP leader Adhikari

Kolkata: In a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday said the Trinamool Congress supremo would have never become the CM had the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram not occurred.

Talking with reporters, Adhikari — the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly — also accused Banerjee of "driving away Tatas from Singur in Hooghly district" and turning Bengal into a "graveyard of industries." The senior BJP leader, who was commenting on the CM's diatribe against the BJP, accusing it of importing 'fake Hinduism' to the state and its treatment of minorities, said her true "anti-Hindu and minority-appeasement" and "opportunist character" has been exposed to the saffron party MLAs in the House.

"You are anti-Hindu, you want to turn West Bengal into Bangladesh. Your opportunist character has been exposed to our legislators who are representing the people of Bengal and voicing their apprehensions," he said at his Assembly chamber, referring to the TMC chairperson.

"Had the Nandigram movement not occurred, you would never have become the CM. Your only credit seems to drive away investors like Tata," he added.

Earlier, Banerjee lashed out at Adhikari over his controversial remark on Muslim MLAs, accusing the BJP of importing 'fake Hinduism' to the state.

She also took a jibe at Adhikari about his political ambitions, having left one party for his personal gains and joining another (BJP) where he is eyeing to grab more power.

"It is better she (Mamata Banerjee) stops lecturing on political principles. Politics is her profession, unlike me and my family, who are descendants of freedom fighters. My father and elderly persons in our family have long illustrious careers in public life. What has she done?' the Nandigram MLA asked.

Adhikari accused Banerjee of betraying Rajiv Gandhi when she was in Congress and Atal Behari Vajpayee when she was with the NDA government "despite getting help from them during a crucial phase of her career." He dared the TMC supremo to contest from Bhawanipore in the 2026 assembly polls, "where she will face a crushing defeat."

Countering Adhikari, Parliamentary Minister and veteran TMC leader Sovandev Chatterjee said, "Adhikari is violating the spirit of the oath he had taken as MLA, where he had promised to safeguard the Constitution." "By peddling falsehood and poison against members of the minority Muslim community, leaders like Adhikari are speaking against the secular, pluralistic values of India, where different religious and linguistic minorities are living peacefully and in harmony for decades in the state. He will face a crushing defeat by the people of Bengal," Chatterjee said.

About Adhikari's casting aspersions on the CM's political career, Chatterjee said, "Mamata Banerjee has had a long political career of struggle. She had been a street fighter championing the rights of grassroots people and fought against the tyranny of CPI(M) and the Left Front for over three decades. What has been Adhikari's role and connect with the masses before she was given political and ministerial responsibility by Banerjee?"