Shah inaugurates new CFSL facility at Rajarahat

Kolkata: While inaugurating a state-of-the-art Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Rajarhat, New Town, on Sunday, Union Home minister Amit Shah accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of opposing ‘Operation Sindoor’ and the Waqf Amendment Act.

Shah inaugurated the CFSL facility to enhance criminal investigations in Bengal and Northeast India. The minister announced plans to establish seven additional CFSL units in states, including Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala and Bihar to expand forensic capabilities nationwide.

Addressing BJP workers, Shah alleged that the April 2025 Murshidabad riots, which claimed three lives, were “state-sponsored” and implicated senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders in inciting the violence during protests over the Waqf Act. Shah also accused Banerjee of opposing Operation Sindoor and the Waqf Amendment Act to appease Muslim voters.

Shah criticised Banerjee for obstructing the deployment of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel during the riots, claiming that timely intervention could have protected Hindu residents. He alleged that the TMC government delayed BSF deployment until BJP workers approached the high court.

The Home minister also accused Banerjee of facilitating illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, asserting that “only a BJP government can stop this.” Responding to TMC’s criticism of BSF’s ineffectiveness, Shah claimed the state government has withheld land required for border security.

Shah condemned Banerjee’s opposition to ‘Operation Sindoor’, a military response to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terrorist attack, which he described as a deep strike 100 km into Pakistan targeting terrorist headquarters. He accused Banerjee of disregarding the sentiments of Indian women by opposing the operation, which he said was meant to protect “crores of mothers and sisters.”

In a Press conference addressed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders on Sunday, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Sagarika Ghose, the party accused Shah of “gross incompetence”, highlighting security failures under his leadership and questioning his accountability. The Pahalgam attack, executed despite Home Ministry’s oversight of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Border Security Force, has fuelled TMC’s charge that Shah has allegedly jeopardised the safety of Indians nationwide.

Shah further criticised Banerjee’s alleged silence on the Pahalgam attack, which killed Bengal tourists, and accused the TMC of corruption, citing the teachers’ recruitment scam and seized cash from TMC leaders. Shah called for uprooting the TMC in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls, predicting Banerjee’s tenure as Chief Minister would end.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh was conspicuous by his absence from the BJP’s organisational meeting, in which Amit Shah was present, on Sunday.

This was the second time in less than a week when the ex-MP and former state BJP chief was absent from a programme of a top BJP leader, the other being the public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Alipurduar in North Bengal on May 29.