Kolkata, 1 June

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a blistering attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of “stooping low” by opposing Operation Sindoor and the Waqf Amendment Act to appease the Muslim vote bank, and alleging that the Murshidabad riots were “state-sponsored”.

Shah, addressing party leaders and workers here, gave a call to uproot the TMC government from power in next year's assembly polls, asserting that the tenure of Banerjee as the CM will end in 2026.

“To appease the Muslim vote bank, Mamata didi opposed Operation Sindoor. By doing so, she is insulting the mothers and sisters of this country. You have not only opposed the military operation, but you have also played with the lives of crores of mothers and sisters. I have come to appeal to women of Bengal to explain the value of sindoor (vermillion) to those who are against Operation Sindoor, in the upcoming (assembly) elections,” he said.

Banerjee had recently accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of trying to exploit Operation Sindoor – the Centre’s military response to the 22 April Pahalgam terrorist attack – for political gains.

“In the 2026 (assembly polls), the mothers and sisters of the state would teach the CM and the Trinamool Congress a lesson for opposing Operation Sindoor,” Shah asserted.

The home minister alleged that senior TMC leaders were complicit in the violence in Murshidabad in April, which broke out during protests over the contentious Waqf Amendment Act.

“The way a TMC minister incited the violence, it can be said that the Murshidabad riots were state-sponsored,” he claimed.

“The MHA kept on insisting about the deployment of BSF during the Murshidabad riots, but the TMC government didn't allow it to happen so that the violence could continue. If BSF personnel had been deployed, Hindus would have been protected. It was only after BJP workers approached the high court that the BSF was finally sent in,” he alleged.

At least three people died and several others were injured in the April riots. This was Shah’s first visit to West Bengal since the Murshidabad clashes.

Sharpening his attack on Banerjee for the state of affairs under her rule, Shah said, “Today, Mamata didi has turned this great land of Bengal land into a hub of infiltration, corruption, atrocities on women, crime, bomb blasts and mistreatment of Hindus.”

Hitting out at the state government for obstructing national security efforts, he said, “Mamata Banerjee is opposing the Waqf Amendment Act for appeasement politics.”

The home minister also accused the ruling TMC of facilitating illegal cross-border movement.