In a fiery public address in Bankura's Barjora, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's allegations of infiltration in the state, turning the tables by questioning the security failures in Kashmir and Delhi. The Chief Minister's sharp retort came barely half an hour after Shah's claims, setting the stage for a major political confrontation.
"Who Carried Out Pahalgam Attack?": Mamata's Counter on Infiltration
Launching a direct challenge to the Home Minister's narrative, Banerjee posed a series of pointed questions. She questioned the logic behind claiming infiltrators existed only in Bengal when terror incidents had occurred elsewhere in the country. "They claim there are infiltrators only in Bengal and none in Kashmir. Then who carried out the Pahalgam attack? You say infiltrators exist only in Bengal, then what happened in Delhi? Who was responsible for the blast?" she asked the crowd.
Asserting the constitutional division of responsibilities, Banerjee clarified that border management was not under the state's purview. "You speak of infiltration, but which ministry is responsible for it? Border management is not our responsibility," she stated, accusing the Centre of expanding the BSF's jurisdiction from 1.5 km to 50 km to intimidate villagers.
Demanding Resignation and Alleging SIR "Scam"
Repeatedly invoking the Mahabharata character 'Dushasan' to symbolise misrule, Banerjee explicitly called for Amit Shah's resignation without naming him. "A person representing misrule has arrived in Bengal... You must resign. You are the home minister of the country; you should resign," she declared, vowing to fight these "Dushasans" till her last breath.
The Chief Minister trained her guns on the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, labelling it a massive "scam" conducted with artificial intelligence. She alleged that names of 54 lakh voters had been wrongly deleted due to the actions of "Dushasan Babu". Banerjee warned that the Trinamool Congress would gherao the Election Commission's office in Delhi if a single legitimate voter's name was removed.
"They took 2 months for SIR, but deleted names in 1.5 days," she claimed, linking over 50 deaths in the state to the SIR process. She also made a serious allegation that a BJP IT cell member was operating from within the Delhi EC office, falsely signing and deleting names impersonating Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
Rebuttal on Land, Corruption, and Appeasement Politics
Banerjee provided a detailed counter to Shah's accusations regarding land not being provided for central projects. She listed several key infrastructure projects where land was given by her government. "Who built the Tarakeshwar–Bishnupur railway line? Was land not given for Bongaon–Petrapole? For Andal airport? They are lying," she asserted.
On corruption charges, she claimed her government acted against its own corrupt officials, while the BJP released "murderers and rapists." She also hit back at nepotism allegations, questioning how the son of a BJP leader became the ICC chairman if the party did not practice favouritism.
Addressing accusations of appeasement, Banerjee responded with defiance. "They are even calling Matangini Hazra a Muslim. They can call me scheduled caste, Adivasi... whatever they wish. I was born to work for people of all religions," she stated. Concluding her rally, she introduced a new political slogan, 'Fatafati Khela', an evolved version of her famous 'Khela Hobe' catchphrase.
