Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that the first task of the BJP will be to rid West Bengal of infiltrators if the party comes to power in the state following the Assembly elections next year.

He said this in Kolkata, where he arrived on Monday for a three-day visit.

“If we come to power in West Bengal in 2026, our first task will not only be to prevent illegal infiltration but also to drive away the illegal infiltrators who are staying inside the state currently,” the Union Home Minister said at the opening statement at a press conference here on Tuesday.

He also accused the state government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of not just refraining from taking action against infiltration but also nurturing the infiltrators.

“I want to ask Mamata Banerjee whether there is any other state government in the country that resists raising barbed fencing at the international borders with Bangladesh. The problem of illegal infiltration taking place in West Bengal is currently not just the problem of the state; rather, it has become a national problem,” Shah said.

In his opening remarks, he also launched a scathing attack against the West Bengal government and the ruling Trinamool Congress over the issues of corruption.

“From chit fund scams to school-job scandals, from coal to cattle smuggling, the names of Trinamool Congress leaders and ministers are everywhere. So many ministers in the state have been jailed because of their involvement in corruption,” he said.

In his opening remarks, he also claimed that the safety of the women in West Bengal has hit rock bottom during the Trinamool Congress regime. “Be it at R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital or South Kolkata Law College, or Sandeshkhali, the women of West Bengal are not safe anywhere. Mamata Banerjee owes an explanation to the people of the state on these issues,” the Union Home Minister said.

He also said West Bengal is of prime importance to the BJP, as the founder of the party, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, was from this state.

HM Shah stated that, going by the trends of the BJP’s upward popularity graph in the state since 2016, he is confident that the party will win the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

–IANS

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