Will 'remove infiltrators from Bengal'; Hindu refugees have nothing to worry: Amit Shah

Mathurapur (WB), Mar 2 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday escalated the BJP's "infiltration" pitch in West Bengal, declaring that while "only names are being deleted now" from the state's electoral rolls under the SIR, infiltrators would be "removed from the state" once the party comes to power, raising the stakes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

Launching the BJP's 'Poroborton Yatra' from Mathurapur in South 24 Parganas district in the state, his first visit since the publication of the post-SIR rolls on Saturday, Shah sought to draw a clear distinction between "infiltrators" and "Hindu refugees", assuring the latter that they have "nothing to worry" and would not lose citizenship under a BJP government.

The Union minister slammed the TMC government over what he described as years of unchecked infiltration under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's watch, signalling that border security and citizenship will anchor the BJP's final electoral push in the run-up to 2026.

Shah also rolled out a string of promises, including the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission for state government employees within 45 days of the BJP coming to power, filling up all vacant government posts by December, and restoring abolished permanent posts within two months.

"Right now, only names are being deleted from voter rolls, and Mamata Didi is nervous. Once the BJP forms the government, we will identify and remove every infiltrator from Bengal," he said, addressing a gathering in the coastal belt abutting the Sundarbans and close to the porous Indo-Bangladesh frontier.

His remarks came days after the post-SIR rolls recorded 63.66 lakh deletions, 8.3 per cent of the electorate, reducing the voter base to just over 7.04 crore ahead of assembly polls likely to be held in April. More than 60.06 lakh electors have also been placed in the "under adjudication" category, subject to scrutiny in the coming weeks.

Shah also sought to reassure Hindu refugees from Bangladesh.

"If Mamata Banerjee had not opposed the CAA, every Hindu refugee from Bangladesh would have received citizenship by now. But I have come to tell all Hindu refugees that you don't have to worry. The BJP government is here for you. Not a single refugee will lose their citizenship," he said, reiterating the Citizenship Amendment Act plank.

The SIR churn has been sharpest in the Matua belt across North 24 Parganas, Nadia and parts of north Bengal, where community leaders claim nearly 40 per cent of the community has been impacted, a development that could reverberate across 40-50 Assembly seats where the Dalit Hindu refugee bloc anchors the BJP's post-2019 citizenship pitch.

Shah alleged that the "TMC has made Bengal a swarg (heaven) for infiltrators," asserting that the border state's security had been compromised by what he called appeasement politics.

"Recently, the Bengal budget allocated just Rs 80 crore for Science and Technology but Rs 5,700 crore for madrasas. I ask you, Mamata Didi, is your agenda to promote science and provide jobs to Bengali youth, or to spend thousands of crores on appeasement?" he said.

The TMC cannot ensure security in a border state like West Bengal because it allows infiltration, the home minister said, asserting that only the BJP can do it.

He also accused Banerjee of duplicity on religious issues.

"Mamata Banerjee is now thinking of temples. But Mamata Didi, in your Bengal, Babri Mosque is being built again. Whose responsibility is it? Should the Babri Mosque be built again? Humayun Kabir and Mamata are the same. Mamata Banerjee has conspired to send Humayun Kabir out of the party and build the Babri Mosque, so that Hindus do not get angry," he alleged.

TMC MLA Kabir laid the foundation stone for a mosque modelled on Ayodhya's Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district in December last year. He was, however, expelled from the party two days before the event.

"Mamata Didi says our Poriborton Yatra is about capturing power. I want to tell her that for us, change does not mean the chief minister's chair. For us, change means freeing West Bengal from infiltrators, from corruption, securing the borders, ensuring the safety of mothers and sisters, and establishing the rule of law," Shah said.

Listing alleged scams, he accused the TMC of institutionalising graft and said several of its leaders had landed in jail.

"And the DGP who provided protection to all these scams is being sent to the Rajya Sabha by Mamata Banerjee," he said, criticising the TMC's decision to nominate former DGP Rajeev Kumar to the Upper House. Kumar had been at the centre of a controversy during the CBI probe into the Saradha chit fund case.

"Corruption has become Bengal's identity. Whenever Bengal's name comes up in the country, the first thing that comes to mind is the corrupt TMC government," Shah said.

In a pointed "bhaipo" (nephew) barb aimed at TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Shah alleged that the chief minister's real goal was to install her nephew in power.

"If the people here make the mistake of voting again for the TMC, Bengal will have a government run by nephew Abhishek Banerjee and not by Mamata Didi," he said.

Claiming that government employees across the country have already received benefits under the Seventh th Pay Commission and are set to get the Eighth Pay Commission, Shah said if the BJP comes to power, the 7th panel would be implemented within 45 days. PTI PNT NN