Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday took potshots at the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, accusing it of engaging in “state sponsored infiltration” and corruption.
Launching the Bharatiya Janata Party’s membership drive in Kolkata, Shah said incidents like Sandeshkhali and RG Kar hospital rape-murder indicate that the state is not safe for women.
The home minister asserted that the BJP’s “next biggest target” is to form a government in West Bengal after the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We are all proud to be members of the world's largest party. I have faith in the Bengal workers that we will not lag in membership numbers,” Shah said, adding that the party has set a target of one crore members.
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“If we examine the history of political parties today, most are run on caste or family lines. The Bharatiya Janata Party is unique, with a National President and Prime Minister who are ordinary workers, without any other background," he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of being involved in the "state-sponsored infiltration", the home minster claimed that only a BJP government in the state can stop the illegal infiltration.
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"In Bengal, state-sponsored infiltration must be stopped. Joining the BJP in Bengal means joining the mission to free the state from the grip of communists and Mamata Didi. This is a border state, and with the way infiltration is being supported at a state level, there is only one solution: a BJP government in 2026,” he said.
Shah raked up the issues of Sanseshkhali violence and the rape-murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar hospital and asserted that these incidents exemplify the lack of security for women in West Bengal.
"Our mothers and sisters are not safe in Bengal," he said.
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West Bengal is one of the major states where the BJP is aiming to make huge inroads in the coming years. In the 2021 assembly elections, the saffron party increased its seat tally from three seats to 77 seats, securing 38% vote share.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP bagged 12 of the 42 seats in the state, though the party had set a target of 30 seats.