TMC fires on all cylinders as Abhishek Banerjee targets EC, ED and BJP from Taherpur

With the electoral drumbeats growing louder in Bengal, Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday turned a public meeting at Taherpur in Nadia into a high-voltage political battleground. Framing the contest as a fight between “Delhi’s power centres” and the people of Bengal, Mr Banerjee accused constitutional and central agencies of being weaponised to intimidate voters and silence opposition voices.

Addressing a packed gathering, Mr Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission was harassing ordinary citizens under the pretext of electoral processes, while central investigative agencies were being deployed selectively to muzzle political rivals. “The Commission is troubling common people, and the ED is throttling the voice of the opposition,” he charged, drawing loud applause from the crowd.

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His criticism of the Election Commission was equally caustic. Referring to the ongoing SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise, Mr Banerjee alleged that the process was creating undue pressure on voters, particularly the elderly. “People who cannot even walk properly, men and women aged 80 or 85, are being summoned in the name of hearings,” he said. “This is nothing but harassment of common citizens.”

Escalating his offensive against the BJP, Mr Banerjee also took up the issue of welfare schemes, particularly Lakshmir Bhandar, the state government’s flagship direct benefit programme for women. Responding to criticism from BJP leaders, he said, “Who is imprisoning whom will be clear the day the ballot boxes are opened.” He then threw down a direct challenge, declaring that the BJP would be defeated “10-0 goals” in the coming political contest.

From the same platform, he set an ambitious target for his party ~ winning all 17 Assembly segments in Nadia district ~ signalling confidence and intent as the campaign gathers momentum.

The Matua community and the long-pending issue of citizenship also found prominent mention in his speech. Mr Banerjee challenged the BJP to an open debate on the Citizenship Amendment Act, daring the saffron party to account for its record. “You bring your 11-year report card, we will bring our 15-year report card. Decide the venue,” he said, in a direct swipe at the Centre’s claims of governance.