Kirti Azad takes a dig at Shah, PM Modi

In a sharp attack on Union home minister Amit Shah, the sitting MP from Burdwan-Durgapur and former cricketer Kirti Jha Azad compared him to a “frog in the monsoon”.

As the election atmosphere intensifies, so too has the tone of political rhetoric. In this context, the Trinamul Congress (TMC) MP stirred controversy by sarcastically describing Mr Shah as a “monsoon frog”.

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Mr Azad remarked: “Whenever there is an election, the frog croaks. Similarly, Amit Shah comes to Bengal and starts making noise.” He also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that during a previous election campaign in the state he attempted to emulate the image of Rabindranath Tagore by growing a beard.

On Tuesday, after visiting the ‘Yuva Sathi’ project camps at Bokaro Hostel and Bhagat Singh Sports Complex in Durgapur’s Ispat Nagari, Mr Azad addressed the media and intensified his criticism. He alleged that the promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh into citizens’ bank accounts remains unfulfilled and that assurances of jobs for 24 crore unemployed people exist only “on paper”. Referring to the closure of state-owned factories in Durgapur, he said, “Instead of providing employment opportunities for the youth, the Centre has shut down industries here.”

During the 2021 Assembly election campaign in West Bengal, the BJP had raised the slogan of ‘Doso Par (200 plus)’. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the numbers were upgraded to ‘Charso Par (400 plus)’. The Trinamul MPs have mocked these claims, pointing out that the party barely crossed the double-century mark in Parliament.

Mr Azad’s remarks indicate that the TMC is seeking to highlight what it describes as the gap between national promises and local realities. Referring to the ‘Yuva Sathi’ initiative, he claimed that the state government is assisting unemployed youth with preparation and travel expenses, and described the turnout at the camps as a “vote of confidence”.

The counter-attack from the BJP has been quick. BJP MLA Laxman Ghorui dismissed Mr Azad’s comments as an attempt to create controversy. He alleged that Mr Azad had earlier written a letter on the illegal coal issue and later withdrawn it under party pressure.