West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, questioning whether the Pahalgam terror attack was “executed by the Centre” after Shah alleged that terror networks were operating in the poll-bound state. Addressing a rally in Birsinghpur in Bankura district, the Trinamool Congress supremo invoked characters from the Mahabharata, likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to Duryodhana and Dushyasahan.
“Dushasana, a disciple of Shakuni, has come to Bengal to gather information. As soon as elections come, Dushasana and Duryodhana start appearing,” Mamata said, referring to Shah’s three-day visit to the state ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Reacting to Shah’s assertion that West Bengal had become a hub for terrorists, Mamata hit back, questioning the Centre’s record on national security. “If there are no terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, how did Pahalgam happen? Did you carry out the attack? Who was behind the Delhi incident?” she asked.
The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, left 26 tourists dead. In November, a Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad module was linked to a car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that killed 15 people.
Earlier in the day, Shah said the 2026 Bengal polls would be fought on the issue of infiltration and accused the state government of not providing land for border fencing along Bangladesh. Mamata rejected the claim, asserting that land had already been provided in border areas such as Petrapol and Changrabanda.
Escalating her attack on the Centre over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Mamata alleged that the exercise was being used to harass people and disenfranchise Bengalis. She claimed plans were underway to delete up to 1.5 crore voters, targeting marginalised communities including Rajbanshis, Matuas and Adivasis.
Calling SIR a “huge scam” conducted using artificial intelligence, Mamata warned that the TMC would gherao the Election Commission’s office in Delhi if even a single legitimate voter was removed.
She also raised concerns over alleged attacks on Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, citing the recent lynching of a 19-year-old labourer in Odisha’s Sambalpur over suspicions of him being a Bangladeshi. With both sides hardening positions ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, political temperatures in West Bengal are set to rise further.
