West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday used the Eid ul-Fitr gathering at Kolkata’s Red Road to launch a sharp attack on the BJP and the Centre, accusing the ruling party of voter suppression, threatening President’s Rule, and funding vote-splitters in the state.
Opening her address with the verse “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qaatil mein hai,” Banerjee set the tone early, telling the crowd her government had only one objective: “To remove BJP and protect the nation.”
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls drew her sharpest words. Banerjee said voter names had been illegally deleted and that she had personally taken the matter from the Calcutta High Court to the Supreme Court, travelling from Kolkata to Delhi in the process.
“I hope that people’s rights are safeguarded. I stand with everyone in Bengal, with all castes, communities and creeds. I will continue this fight,” she said ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Elections.
She directly challenged the Centre over what she described as attempts to destabilise her government. “You are trying to forcibly control our government, you want to impose President’s Rule. Still, we won’t be scared,” she said, adding: “Jo darte hain, wo marte hain. Jo ladte hain, wo zindagi mein kamyab hote hain.”
At the launch of the Trinamool Congress manifesto earlier, Banerjee had alleged that forces from across the border were attempting to bring money and arms into Bengal to engineer riots and create conditions for central intervention. “They aim to destabilise Bengal and impose indirect control through President’s Rule,” she said, calling on people to remain united and resist efforts to undermine the state’s peace.
She described the situation as “an undeclared form of central control, almost like a President’s Rule without officially declaring it.”
Banerjee called the BJP “a party of thieves and goons, a party of traitors” and warned those she accused of accepting money from the BJP to divide votes: “Muddai lakh bura chahe to kya hota hai, wahi hota hai jo manzoor-e-khuda hota hai.”
She closed with a couplet from Allama Iqbal: “Khudi ko kar buland itna ki har taqdeer se pehle, Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai“.
She wished the gathering: “May Allah bless you. May India and Bengal prosper. Those who target Bengal can go to hell.”