MALDA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, alleging that large-scale infiltration had altered the state’s demography, triggered riots in districts such as Malda and Murshidabad, and thrived due to the ruling party’s “patronage and syndicate raj”.
Addressing a rally here, Modi said infiltration posed one of the biggest challenges before the state and asserted that even prosperous countries across the world were taking firm steps to identify and deport illegal migrants.
“Infiltration is a very big challenge before Bengal. There are developed and prosperous countries in the world which have no shortage of money, yet they are removing infiltrators. It is equally necessary to remove infiltrators from West Bengal,” he said, linking recent incidents of violence in Malda and Murshidabad to the issue.
The Prime Minister alleged that the TMC’s “syndicate” system was actively working to ensure infiltrators were settled in Bengal, leading to demographic changes in many areas.
Seeking to reassure the politically significant Matua community, who had migrated to India from neighbouring Bangladesh after facing religious persecution, Modi said, “I want to assure refugees like the Matuas who took shelter in India due to religious persecution: you need not worry.”
He later reiterated that persecuted refugees had nothing to fear as the Citizenship Amendment Act protects them.
Training his guns on the ruling party, the Prime Minister said the “hooliganism and politics of threats” practised by the TMC would soon come to an end.
He claimed that Bengal was surrounded by BJP ruled states that had ensured “good governance” and asserted that it was now the state’s turn.
“Bengal is surrounded on all sides by BJP governments that stand for good governance. Now it is time for good governance in Bengal too,” he said.
Citing the BJP’s recent performance in local body polls in Mumbai, Modi said India’s Gen Z believed in the party’s development model.
“Ei sarkar palano dorkaar (this Trinamool government needs to be changed),” he thundered in Bengali.
Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of looting public money and preventing central aid from reaching people, he said development would come to Bengal only after the Trinamool was defeated and the BJP came to power.
“Big action will be taken against infiltration once the BJP comes to power in Bengal,” he asserted.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister unveiled rail and road projects worth over Rs 3,250 crore in West Bengal, aimed at strengthening connectivity and accelerating development in the state and the North East.
From Malda, he flagged off the country’s first Vande Bharat sleeper trains between Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya) and virtually launched four Amrit Bharat Express services linking New Jalpaiguri with Nagercoil and Tiruchirappalli, and Alipurduar with SMVT Bengaluru and Mumbai (Panvel).
The fully air conditioned sleeper train is expected to cut travel time on the Howrah Guwahati route by around 2.5 hours.
“The new Vande Bharat sleeper train has connected the holy land of Maa Kali to that of Maa Kamakhya,” Modi said, adding, “There was a time when we used to watch developed foreign nations and dream of such modern trains in our country. Today that dream has come true.”
He said Indian Railways was undergoing a phase of complete transformation and that the country was now making more railway coaches than Europe or the US.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said India would soon be exporting Vande Bharat trains and announced that passengers on services departing from Kolkata would be served Bengali cuisine, while those from Guwahati would be offered Assamese food.
A statement from the PMO said the projects would enhance affordable and reliable long distance connectivity and support the mobility needs of students, migrant workers and traders.
On a two day visit to eastern India, Modi is scheduled to criss-cross poll-bound Bengal and Assam, blending high-voltage political messaging with infrastructure launches as the countdown to the 2026 Assembly elections enters a decisive phase. He is set to address another political meeting from Singur in Hooghly district on Sunday.
(With inputs from PTI, Rajesh Kumar Thakur)