Political tensions escalated as leaders from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They accused her of obstructing central agencies and favoring a Bangladeshi-origin vote bank. This comes after Banerjee’s recent protest against what she perceived as undue interference by constitutional authorities.
Vinod Bansal, the National Spokesperson of the VHP, strongly criticized Banerjee, claiming that her efforts to transform Bengal into Bangladesh would not succeed. He accused her of halting the Income Tax department and the CBI, and obstructing agency actions by taking away files. Bansal questioned the state government’s adherence to the rule of law.
In a similar vein, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that Banerjee had ignored the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh while focusing on electoral gains. He accused her of receiving financial support from both internal and external sources to maintain her Bangladeshi-origin vote bank. Somaiya emphasized the BJP’s firm stance against illegal immigration, stating that Bangladeshi nationals must be repatriated without compromise.
Responding to the criticism, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey accused the Centre of using investigative agencies selectively against non-BJP governments. Dubey claimed that agencies like the ED and CBI target non-BJP-ruled states while avoiding states like Gujarat and Maharashtra, alleging political bias in agency deployment.
The recent exchange of accusations follows Banerjee’s protest against an alleged Election Commission-related raid, where she accused the Centre of intimidating state officials and misusing constitutional institutions.
