Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a multi-pronged political attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal via social media platform X, shortly after concluding his visit to Kolkata on Saturday. His posts addressed key issues including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the recent chaotic event featuring football star Lionel Messi, and allegations of cross-border infiltration.
Weather Disruption and CAA Assurances
Modi began by explaining that adverse weather conditions prevented him from physically addressing a scheduled rally in Nadia district's Ranaghat at 6:25 PM. He stated he had intended to raise several issues at the gathering. Seizing the digital podium, the Prime Minister directly addressed the Matua and Namasudra communities, who have significant concerns regarding citizenship.
"I assure every Matua and Namasudra family that we will always serve them," Modi wrote. He emphasized that these communities are not in India at the mercy of the TMC but have the right to live with dignity due to the CAA enacted by his government. He promised further support for these communities once a BJP government is sworn into power in the state.
Targeting TMC on Messi Fiasco and Infiltration
The Prime Minister did not hold back in criticizing the state's ruling party on other fronts. He referenced the disorganized event at Salt Lake Stadium during Argentine footballer Lionel Messi's visit, which caused major public disappointment. Modi called it a shame for the football-loving state of West Bengal, an incident he said broke the hearts of countless young fans.
Shifting to the sensitive issue of border security, Modi accused the Trinamool Congress of shielding infiltrators. He pointedly remarked that while TMC supporters chant 'Modi Go Back', they remain conspicuously silent on demanding 'Infiltrators Go Back'.
Trinamool's Swift and Scathing Retort
The Trinamool Congress responded with immediate and sharp counter-attacks. Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha member, Derek O'Brien, likened the PM to a "migratory bird" who flew in but could not reach his destination and forgot his script. O'Brien alleged the PM was engaged in "late-night damage control."
The TMC claimed that the Ranaghat rally was heavily promoted by the BJP as the forum where Modi would clear Matua community anxieties, particularly regarding the CAA rules and the SIR (Stateless in India) process. They asserted that his absence and subsequent X posts amounted to an admission of having no concrete message, rendering his statements meaningless in the context of the ongoing SIR concerns.
Further mocking the Prime Minister, the TMC also referenced a recent controversy where Modi referred to Bengali literary icon Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay as "Bankim da". The party jabbed that Modi seemed to have realized that just as there can never be a "Gandhi da" or "Savarkar da", the title "Bankim da" was similarly misplaced.
The exchange highlights the intense political battle heating up in West Bengal, with the CAA, civic issues, and cultural sentiments forming the core of the debate between the BJP and the TMC.
