Amit Shah, Mamata Banerjee clash over infiltration, SIR in West Bengal

Infiltration and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal became the key issues in scathing political attacks launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (March 28).

While Shah, in his “charge sheet”, accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of being responsible for the state becoming “the only remaining route” for infiltration due its appeasement politics, Mamata said SIR would be the key reason behind the BJP’s downfall.

Shah targets TMC over infiltration

Speaking to reporters in Kolkata, Shah lashed out at the TMC, alleging that during the party’s 15-year rule, West Bengal had become the country’s "principal corridor for infiltration, appeasement politics and border insecurity".

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“The Bengal election is important not only for the state but for the entire country. The security of the country is, in a way, linked to the Bengal election,” said Shah.

Claims of ‘only remaining route’

Elaborating further, the Union Home Minister said that infiltration routes through Assam had been “shut” after the BJP came to power there. Shah claimed West Bengal was now “the only remaining route” for infiltration.

“West Bengal is the only state from where infiltrators are entering the country and creating disturbances,” he added.

Appeasement and ‘victim card’ charge

Shah repeatedly linked the issue to what he described as the TMC’s “appeasement and vote-bank politics,” accusing the state government of obstructing efforts to strengthen border management.

Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government had not provided land for border fencing despite repeated requests from the Centre and added that the refusal was "politically motivated".

Also Read: Mamata credits TMC for voter list inclusions, urges EC to release final SIR data

“The TMC government has not provided land for border fencing as they want to create a vote-bank of infiltrators,” said Shah.

The Union Minister accused the TMC supremo of always resorting to the politics of “playing the victim card”.

"Mamata Banerjee has always played the politics of the victim card. At times, she gets her leg broken; at other times, she has her head bandaged; sometimes she falls ill; and then again, she stands before the Election Commission feigning helplessness while hurling abuses at the institution. But I have come to tell her that the people of Bengal have now thoroughly understood this politics of the victim card..,” said Shah as quoted by ANI.

What about Manipur, asks TMC

Hours later, TMC slammed Shah with a counter to his “chargesheet”, accusing the BJP of trying to polarise the people of poll-bound West Bengal and evade accountability for its own record on a host of issues, including women's safety.

The party questioned the BJP-led Centre over the prolonged violence in Manipur, women’s safety in BJP-ruled states and the Centre’s handling of illegal immigration.

Senior TMC leaders Mahua Moitra, Bratya Basu and Kirti Azad held a joint press conference where the trio targeted the Union home minister over his criticism of the TMC government on women's safety.

“Amit Shah is talking about women's security. What is the condition of women's safety in BJP-ruled states? Shah should first answer about violence in Manipur, which has bled continuously for the past three years," TMC MP Moitra said.

TMC attacks Shah over infiltration

“BJP rules at the Centre. It rules 15 states and most border states through which infiltration is happening. Amit Shah himself is the Union Home Minister. So what exactly has he been waiting for?” senior TMC leader Bratya Basu said.

Questioning the Centre's claims on infiltration, the West Bengal education minister asked why the Union Home Ministry had "failed" to identify and deport illegal immigrants.

"Why has the BJP-controlled Election Commission failed to release the names of foreign nationals found on the electoral rolls?" he asked.

BJP creating divisions: TMC

In a separate statement, Basu alleged that the BJP was using the issue of infiltration to create divisions in Bengal.

"BJP wants to blur the line between Bengali and Bangladeshi so they can import their hateful Assam-style detention camp model into Bengal," he alleged.

The TMC also accused the BJP of seeking to reap political mileage from the issue of infiltration while "failing" to act despite being in power at the Centre for over a decade.

According to the TMC, if infiltration remained a problem, the responsibility lay primarily with the Union government, which controls the country's borders and security apparatus.

Mamata’s SIR charge on BJP

Also, during the day, the Chief Minister warned the saffron party that the SIR would be its “death knell”, adding that the BJP would lose power in the country in its attempt to destroy West Bengal.

Also Read: West Bengal elections: Mamata accuses Centre, EC of ‘snatching voting rights’

Addressing a poll rally in Raniganj, she announced that after winning the West Bengal assembly elections for the fourth consecutive time, she would bring all political parties along to "capture" Delhi.

"If the BJP comes to power in the state, they will use bulldozers and throw everyone out," Banerjee claimed.

"By attempting to destroy Bengal, the BJP will lose power across the country," the chief minister asserted at the rally in the mining town of Paschim Bardhaman district.

‘BJP crossing all limits'

Accusing the Election Commission of working at the behest of the saffron party to delete voters' names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Banerjee said, "There must be a Lakshman Rekha, but the BJP is crossing all limits." "SIR will be your death knell," she warned the BJP. Referring to clashes during the Ram Navami procession in Murshidabad's Raghunathganj, she claimed that the administration took no action.

"I am the elected chief minister, but they have taken away all powers," she said and vowed to bring to book all those responsible for the violence after the TMC returns to power.

(With agency inputs)