TMC slams BJP leaders for humiliating Bengal women, saffron camp hits back

Kolkata, Jun 9 (PTI)The TMC on Monday accused BJP leaders of “putting a price tag on women’s dignity” and depriving West Bengal of its rightful central funds.

The saffron camp hit back, claiming that the ruling party is trying to deflect from the issue of alleged lack of women's safety in the state.

The latest round of political recriminations ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls began after Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari reportedly told women in a rally in Sandeshkhali “not to sell their sindoor and bangles for Rs 500–1,000” under the state’s Lakshmir Bhandar income-support scheme.

Addressing a joint press conference at the TMC headquarters, party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and the state Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja attacked Adhikari for his comments made at the rally in Sandeshkhali on Sunday.

“The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme empowers 2.21 crore women without discrimination, unlike the exclusionary models in BJP-ruled states... Yesterday, Suvendu Adhikari set a price on a woman’s sindoor and bangles. We never humiliate our mothers and sisters like that," Panja said.

Ghosh Dastidar called the remarks “extremely condemnable”.

"Suvendu Adhikari comes here only to insult women. Even the central BJP leaders and ministers have echoed such misogyny. All women of Bengal are united in condemning the BJP,” she asserted.

Panja questioned the BJP’s “double standards”.

“They run governments in dozens of states. Why don’t they give every woman there Rs 3,000 a month? In Delhi, they restrict benefits to one woman per family and impose income caps, while in Bengal every woman aged 21–60 receives the allowance,” she said.

She also alleged that BJP workers had exploited Sandeshkhali residents during unrest last year.

Sandeshkhali area in South 24 Parganas district had been on the boil in February last year with protests over allegations of sexual abuse and land grab against TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested later, and his supporters.

“They made women (of Sandeshkhali) sign blank papers that were later used for making fake complaints. A sting video showed a local BJP leader admitting the betrayal. Now the same leaders insult those very women. They must apologise,” Panja said.

Turning to finances, Ghosh Dastidar accused the Centre of blocking over Rs 1.75 lakh crore due to Bengal under various welfare schemes.

“Our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had to protest in Delhi and Kolkata for houses, roads and drinking water. The Centre takes our GST but withholds our share,” she alleged.

The TMC leaders further cited a string of past BJP remarks—Dilip Ghosh’s taunt about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s attire, Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s dance jibe, and a former judge cum poll candidate’s query on the CM’s ‘price’—to brand the saffron party “anti-women and anti-Bengal”.

Responding to the charges, BJP’s West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar claimed that the TMC was indulging in “selective outrage” to deflect from the issue of alleged lack of women's safety in the state.

“Suvendu Adhikari criticised the misuse of Lakshmir Bhandar to shield criminals and pacify angry women in Sandeshkhali. The scheme has been used as hush money. The TMC is twisting words to play victim. It’s the TMC that failed the women of Bengal,” he said.

Majumdar also said that the allegations of fund freeze were “half-truths”.

“The Centre has sought utilisation certificates. If the state cannot show transparency, funds will be stopped. You cannot claim rights without accountability,” he added. PTI PNT NN