Refuting the charges of illegal infiltration made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (December 30, 2025) raised questions on terror attacks in Kashmir and Delhi and demanded the Home Minister’s resignation.
“They [the BJP] 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?,” the Chief Minister said, addressing a gathering in Bankura district. “The Home Minister must resign. If not, people will remove you from power,” she said.
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Mr. Shah had said the West Bengal government under Ms. Banerjee was “allowing infiltration as a policy to strengthen its vote bank”. The Home Minister had also accused the State government of not providing land for fencing along the Bangladesh border.
The Chief Minister also refuted allegations of not giving land to the Central government agencies and recalled different projects for which the West Bengal government had allocated land to the Central agencies.. “I have given enough land, but work on those areas where land has been allocated has not been completed yet,” Ms. Banerjee said.
“They are now saying land was never given. Was land not given in Raniganj, Jamuria, Bankura? Was land not given for Bongaon–Petrapole? For Andal airport? Then who built the Tarakeshwar–Bishnupur railway line? Was it done without Mamata Banerjee giving land? If land was not given, from where did ECL (Eastern Coalfields Limited) get land to extract coal?” she asked.
Ms. Banerjee also ridiculed the claims by the Home Minister that the BJP would win a two-thirds majority in West Bengal in the next Assembly polls. “Earlier, they had said they would cross 200 seats. Now they are trying SIR [special intensive revision],” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister said about 58 to 60 people had died during the process of SIR and added that in every district a memorial would be set up for those who died during the ongoing SIR.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee also refuted the Home Minister’s charges on infiltration and said he [Mr. Shah] had to take responsibility if infiltration occurred through the international border. Mr. Banerjee said the Home Minister should listen to what his party MPs Jagannath Sarkar and Ananta Maharaj had to say on infiltration.
Addressing a press conference Mr. Shah had also targeted Mr. Banerjee, who is nephew of the Chief Minister. “Mamata Banerjee’s government has promoted syndicate and cut money, and here only ‘Bhaipo’ [nephew] has the right to earn, and no one else.” Mr. Shah had said.
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