Amit Shah Accuses TMC Of Shielding Infiltrators, Corruption At BJP Meet in Bengal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of shielding illegal migrants, weakening border security and entrenching corruption, asserting that a change of government in West Bengal was necessary for both the state and national security, according to PTI.

Addressing a BJP workers’ meeting in Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas, Shah said the TMC government was “certain to go” in the upcoming assembly elections and claimed that the BJP’s return to power in the state was critical beyond electoral considerations. PTI reported that Shah framed the Bengal elections as a security issue, linking governance in the state to wider national concerns.

“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,” Shah alleged.

He further claimed that illegal migrants were not being stopped by the state administration and police, and were instead being sent to different parts of the country using forged documents, PTI reported.

Shah also referred to the recent fire at a momo factory in Anandapur near Kolkata, alleging that it was “not an accident but the result of the corruption of the Mamata Banerjee government”. Questioning the lack of arrests, he asked why the factory owners had not been taken into custody and whether their “proximity” to the ruling party had a role. “Has the administration completely ceased to exist in Bengal?” he asked.

According to PTI, Shah also accused the TMC of intimidating the Matua and Namasudra communities, while assuring them that they had “nothing to fear” and that “no one can touch your votes”.

Alleging that corruption had been institutionalised in the state, Shah challenged Banerjee to demonstrate her commitment to tackling it by denying assembly election tickets to “tainted ministers”. He also predicted that the BJP would secure over 50 per cent of the vote share and form a government with a large majority.

Shah further accused the TMC of opposing a discussion on Vande Mataram in Parliament to appease infiltrators, PTI reported, and urged voters to “uproot” the Trinamool Congress government and replace it with a “government of patriots and nationalists” in West Bengal.

(With inputs from PTI)