Kolkata: After Amit Shah alleged the presence of terror networks in the poll-bound state and further mounted a sharp attack on the state government, accusing it of allowing “infiltrators”, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her typically combative style countered Shah’s remarks and asked if there were no terrorists in J&K, how did the Pahalgam attack happen.
Claiming that the SIR was a huge “scam” being conducted with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) to delete names, Banerjee said TMC will gherao the Election Commission’s office in Delhi if the name of a single legitimate voter is deleted from the rolls. She was addressing a public rally in Bankura’s Barjora.
She also described Union Home minister Amit Shah as ‘Dushasan’ without naming him, and demanded his resignation, accusing him of failing to prevent subversive activities in the country.
Banerjee asked if the Pahalgam terror attack was carried out by the Centre itself, if terrorists were indeed operating freely in Bengal.
“If there are no terrorists in J&K, how did Pahalgam happen? Did you carry out the attack in Pahalgam? Who was behind the incident that happened in Delhi?” asked Banerjee, hinting at national security at stake.
Shah reached Kolkata on a three-day visit to Bengal on Monday and brought some charges against the state government during a Press conference early on Tuesday.
“Dushasan has come to Bengal today. Whenever elections are around, Duryodhan and Dushasan arrive here,” Banerjee said, without naming anyone. It was apparently believed that she referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah as ‘Duryodhan’ and ‘Dushasan’ from the epic Mahabharata. Why is this state being blamed all the time for infiltration when a terror attack had happened in Jammu and Kashmir, and a blast took place in New Delhi, she questioned. On the SIR issue, Banerjee also attacked Shah saying: “You now claim SIR will remove infiltrators. What were you doing all these years? Today, names of Matuas, Namasudras, Rajbanshis, Hindus and minorities are being deleted.”
Alleging that many people have died in Bengal due to the implementation of SIR, Banerjee stated: “Last time they came saying 200 paar and failed miserably. This time, they are using SIR. Many people have lost their lives due to SIR,” Banerjee said. Earlier in the day, Shah claimed that the BJP will come to power in 2026 with a two-thirds majority.
Calling SIR a ‘scam’, Banerjee thundered on Shah saying: “The Home minister must resign. If not, people will remove you from power. You took two months for SIR, but deleted 1.5 crore names in one and a half days.” “Arrest BJP thieves and dacoits. You made Aadhaar mandatory despite existing certificates. You collected biometric data—how can there be errors? RTI says 142 crore Aadhaar cards were made, yet only 11,272 infiltrators were found. Then why Aadhaar? You jailed our ministers for years. How many of your ministers went to jail for corruption or murders?” Banerjee attacked Shah.
After Shah accused Banerjee of denying land to build a border fence with Bangladesh, Banerjee, denying the allegations, said that the fencing of the Bangladesh border could not be completed if the Trinamool Congress government did not provide land for the project. “All Railway projects were executed because the state provided. Land has already been provided on the borders in Petrapole and Changrabanda,” Banerjee argued. “They are saying ‘Mamata hasn’t given land’! Who has done all the development work? We have. If I didn’t give land, how would they extract coal in Bengal? We have given land. Only big talks and lies,” she added.
Banerjee also hit out over the rash of deaths during the SIR, specifically BLOs, or booth level officers, tasked with distributing and collecting enumeration forms. “Around 60 people died due to SIR. Elderly people are being called for document verification hearings… if even a single legitimate voter’s name is deleted, we will gherao the Election Commission office…” Banerjee asserted.
In reply to Shah’s allegations of corruption against the Bengal government, Banerjee asked how Shah’s son became ICC President. “You preach nepotism, yet your son gets international posts while common people suffer?” “Before elections, they promise Sonar Bangla. After voting BJP, people are lynched for speaking Bengali in Odisha, UP, Rajasthan and Assam. We want development; you want destruction. Till my last breath, I will fight these Dushasans,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee also demanded that BLAs should be allowed during the hearing. “BLAs are present during enumeration and polling, then why are they barred when 1.36 lakh names are deleted? Because BJP has no BLAs in villages,” she added.
Banerjee once again asserted that her government will not allow “anyone to touch religious properties” in the name of implementation of Waqf Amendment Act 2025. During her address, Banerjee also asked to stand with the people. “Show no ego. If you do, I will remove you in a day. Stand with the people,” she told her party presidents and chairpersons.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress also slammed Shah for calling Sachindra Nath Sanyal as “Rabindranath Sanyai” during his press conference. In a post on X, TMC wrote: “No, Mr. @AmitShah. Rabindranath Tagore. Sachindra Nath Sanyal. Two towering figures. Two entirely different people. But how would you know the difference? After all, you are BOHIRAGOTO with zero cultural literacy. Do your homework. Stop mangling our icons. Stop humiliating our luminaries. And most importantly, STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELF.”