Amit Shah to start two-day Bengal visit; TMC dubs him ‘migratory bird’ of poll season

Kolkata: Union Home minister Amit Shah is set to arrive in Kolkata on late Saturday night for a two-day visit to Bengal. He is scheduled to attend a party convention at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday. Trinamool, however, slammed Shah’s visit calling him a migratory bird that comes to Bengal only during election seasons. Shah may begin his day with the inauguration of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Rajarhat. Later in the day he is expected to address the BJP leaders at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Shah is scheduled to attend a series of official and party programmes on Sunday. He may also pay a visit to the ancestral home of Swami Vivekananda at Simla Street in north Kolkata. Party insiders said the Netaji Indoor Stadium meeting is expected to focus on the BJP’s roadmap for West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. This is his first visit to Bengal after the “Operation Sindoor” was successfully carried out.

Trinamool Congress, however, said that Shah’s visit to the state would create an adverse feeling on the people of Bengal as the Centre has deprived the state by not paying MGNREGS dues, Awas dues. Yet the BJP top leaders come to the state during election seasons. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “After Operation Sindoor, Shah is visiting Bengal like a migratory bird that appears only during election seasons. Shah’s visit will help Trinamool Congress to secure better results as the people of Bengal will compare and understand that coming of BJP leaders to state more frequently means stopping of Central funds to the state. More the BJP leaders will come here like daily passengers, the people will not cast their votes against the BJP.” There were speculations if the former state president of BJP Dilip Ghosh will join Shah’s meeting. It was learnt from sources that Ghosh is not among the list of invitees. Shah may stay in a hotel which is close to the residence of Ghosh in New Town. Dilip Ghosh was not invited when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Alipurduar last Thursday. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also said that the BJP leaders will now try to take credit for Operation Sindoor but in reality the credit should be given to our Armed Forces. Operation Sindoor should not be politicised. “The Centre would not have been able to carry out Operation Sindoor, had the Opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress, not extended full support to the Modi government,” he said. On BJP’s infighting, Kunal said: “BJP claims themselves to be ‘Sanatani’. The BJP boycotted Dilip Ghosh for attending Jagannath Dham. The other two leaders Sukanta Majumdar and Suvendu Adhikari were trying to prove that they had better hold on the party workers than what Dilip Ghosh had. Both are instrumental against Dilip.”