New Delhi : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, of allowing illegal immigration from Bangladesh for political gains, claiming the state’s demography has been “dangerously altered” over the years.
Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said public anxiety over infiltration had grown and asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would put an end to it if voted to power in the 2026 state elections. He claimed the BJP would form the next government with a two-thirds majority.
“We will identify infiltrators and drive them out,” Shah said. He blamed the Banerjee government for delays in fencing the India-Bangladesh border, alleging it failed to provide land required for the project.
Shah also sought to reassure members of the Matua community, saying they had nothing to fear from the Special Intensive Revision exercise. He reiterated the Centre’s commitment to shelter religiously persecuted refugees.
The home minister accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of promoting a culture of fear and violence, alleging that more than 300 BJP workers had been killed and thousands displaced since the party came to power. He also alleged large-scale corruption, claiming senior TMC leaders had been jailed and large sums of cash seized.
Shah further alleged that West Bengal’s economy had declined sharply, with thousands of industries leaving the state. He urged voters to give the BJP a chance, saying people were seeking an alternative to what he described as corruption and misgovernance.
The TMC strongly rejected Shah’s claims, calling them exaggerated and misleading. Senior party leader and state minister Bratya Basu said the BJP would fail to cross even 50 seats in the 294-member assembly. “These are hollow claims. Such visits will change nothing,” Basu said.
TMC leaders also countered Shah’s remarks on women’s safety, with minister Sashi Panja accusing the BJP of double standards and pointing to cases such as Bilkis Bano. She also cited allegations against BJP leaders Kuldeep Sengar and Brij Bhushan Singh, saying the party had no moral authority to lecture on the issue.
On the economy, the TMC said West Bengal had attracted significant investment since 2011 and ranked among the top states in the MSME sector, dismissing Shah’s criticism as false.
