In a fiery public address in Bankura's Barjora, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's allegations of infiltration in the state, turning the tables by questioning the security failures in Kashmir and Delhi.
A Direct Challenge on Security Failures
Barely thirty minutes after Amit Shah accused the Bengal government of allowing infiltration for vote bank politics, Mamata Banerjee mounted a sharp counter-offensive. She challenged the central government's narrative by pointing to major terror incidents outside Bengal. "They claim there are infiltrators only in Bengal and none in Kashmir. Then who carried out the Pahalgam attack? You say infiltrators exist only in Bengal, then what happened in Delhi? Who was responsible for the blast?" Banerjee demanded from the rally stage.
She sarcastically asked if, according to the Union Home Minister's logic, infiltrators were present nowhere except Bengal, implying that the central government itself might be responsible for the attacks. "Are infiltrators present nowhere except Bengal? So, was it you who did it?" she questioned.
Border Management and Allegations of Voter List Tampering
Shifting the responsibility for border security squarely to the Centre, Banerjee clarified the state's role. "Border management is not our responsibility. You expanded a 1.5-km area into 50 km to include the villages, using BSF to threaten people," she alleged. While stating she was not against central forces, she objected to any actions lacking impartiality.
The Chief Minister trained her guns on the Summary Revision of voter rolls, calling it a massive "scam" conducted with the help of Artificial Intelligence. She issued a stern warning, declaring that the Trinamool Congress would gherao the Election Commission's office in Delhi if a single legitimate voter's name was deleted. She alleged that names of 54 lakh voters had been removed due to the actions of "Dushasan Babu," a veiled reference to Amit Shah, and claimed BJP leaders were threatening to delete 1.5 crore names.
"You took 2 months for SIR, but deleted names in 1.5 days. The Home Minister must resign. If not, people will remove you," she asserted. Banerjee also questioned the accountability for over 50 deaths in the state linked to the SIR process.
Myth-Busting and a New Political Slogan
In a comprehensive rebuttal, Banerjee addressed several other allegations made by Shah. On corruption, she retorted, "We take action when our people are corrupt. You caught a couple of us. Were you able to keep them in jail? You could not." She also questioned BJP's stance on nepotism, asking how the son of a senior BJP leader became the ICC chairman if the party did not practice favoritism.
Countering claims that her government does not provide land for central projects, she listed several initiatives: "Who built the Tarakeshwar–Bishnupur railway line? Was land not given for ECL coal extraction in Raniganj, Jamuria, Bankura? For Bongaon–Petrapole? For Andal airport? They are lying."
Responding to allegations of appeasement, Banerjee made a personal commitment: "They are even calling Matangini Hazra a Muslim. They can call me scheduled caste, Adivasi... whatever. I was born to work for people. I will continue to work for people of all religions throughout my life."
Ending her speech on a combative note, she repeatedly used the term 'Dushasan' from the Mahabharata to describe her opponents and demanded the Home Minister's resignation. "A person representing misrule has arrived in Bengal... You must resign. You are the home minister of the country; you should resign," she said, vowing to fight till her last breath. She also unveiled a new political slogan, ‘Fatafati Khela’, an evolved version of her famous ‘Khela Hobe’ catchphrase, signaling an intensified political battle ahead.
