TMC rule in Bengal a national security threat, time to say 'tata bye bye' to it: Amit Shah

But I want to assure you whether Mamata Banerjee gives land by March 31 as directed by the High Court or not, in April a BJP chief minister within 45 days of forming the government will hand over land to the BSF, he said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday mounted an all-out attack on the TMC government, accusing it of shielding infiltrators, fuelling social strife and deliberately weakening border security for electoral gains. Asserting that no other administration in the country was ''as corrupt'' as the TMC regime, Shah called on party workers to uproot the ruling dispensation and establish what he described as a ''government of patriots and nationalists'' in West Bengal. ''The year 2026 is the year to say 'tata, bye-bye' to the TMC,'' he said. Projecting the upcoming assembly polls as more than a routine political contest, Shah, addressing BJP workers' meetings in south and north Bengal, cast the battle as a referendum on national security, governance and Bengali asmita, as the BJP sharpened its pitch to dislodge the ruling party amid heightened focus on infiltration, electoral rolls revision and alleged scams. Shah alleged that illegal migration through the India-Bangladesh border had spiralled under the TMC due to ''vote-bank politics''. ''The way infiltration is taking place in West Bengal, it has become a security issue for the entire country. Even after court orders, the TMC government is not giving land to the BSF for border fencing because infiltrators are its vote bank,'' he said at a workers' meeting in Barrackpore. He claimed illegal migrants were being allowed to move freely, with the ''administration and police looking the other way''. Shah said the Calcutta High Court had noted that the chief minister was not cooperating in providing land required for border fencing. ''But I want to assure you whether Mamata Banerjee gives land by March 31 as directed by the High Court or not, in April a BJP chief minister within 45 days of forming the government will hand over land to the BSF,'' he said. The HC has directed the state government to hand over already acquired land in nine border districts by March 31 for fencing, noting that West Bengal accounts for more than half of India's border with Bangladesh and that large stretches remain unfenced despite multiple cabinet decisions since 2016. On the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls, Shah accused the TMC of obstructing the Election Commission and alleged non-cooperation by the state administration. ''Mamata Banerjee can oppose the SIR as much as she wants, but it will take place to weed out infiltrators from the voters' list,'' he said. Alleging deliberate obstruction, Shah said state officers were not cooperating with the EC. ''Why is Mamata Banerjee afraid? Because once the SIR is implemented, infiltrators will have to leave,'' he claimed. Shah also attacked the state government over the fire at warehouses housing a momo factory in Anandapur near Kolkata, alleging it was the result of corruption and administrative collapse. ''I want to pay tribute to the workers who lost their lives in the fire,'' he said. ''But let me say clearly, this fire was not an accident. Mamata Banerjee government's corruption is the cause.'' ''Has the administration completely ceased to exist in Bengal?'' he asked, alleging the response would have been different had the victims belonged to a ''particular community''.''I demand that the chief minister order a full probe into this incident and that the culprits be sent to jail,'' Shah said. In North Bengal, Shah sharpened his political offensive, alleging that corruption had become systemic under the TMC. ''There is no government in the country more corrupt than Mamata Banerjee's regime. Corruption has been institutionalised in Bengal,'' he said, claiming central funds worth over Rs 10 lakh crore had been siphoned off through syndicates. Throwing an open challenge to the chief minister, Shah said, ''If you do not support corruption, don't give tickets to these 23 tainted leaders, who were either arrested or are accused. But she will give tickets, because if she doesn't, they will open the files.'' Accusing the TMC of deliberately pitting communities against one another, Shah said Bengal's social harmony had been shattered. ''Mamata ji came with the slogan 'Maa, Mati, Manush'. Today I can say even the Communists were better than you. You made Gorkhas fight Bengalis, Adivasis fight Kurmis, Rajbanshis fight Adivasis and Bengalis. Other than creating internal conflicts and social strife, you did nothing,'' he alleged. Using Banerjee's own slogan, Shah remarked, ''Maa is unsafe, Manush is suffering, and Mati has been swallowed,'' claiming women did not feel safe, common people lived under syndicate pressure and land was being taken over by infiltrators. Seeking to ringfence refugee communities ahead of the elections, Shah reached out to the Matua and Namasudra groups, which have figured prominently in the citizenship debate and emerged as a key BJP support base since 2019. Assuaging their concerns over the SIR, Shah accused the TMC of intimidating refugee communities on the citizenship issue,''TMC is scaring Matuas and Namasudras. I want to tell them there is no need to fear. Mamata Banerjee cannot touch your votes.'' Shah also alleged economic decline under the TMC, claiming that 6,900 companies had either shut down or shifted out of West Bengal between 2011 and 2025, including 110 listed firms.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)