The row erupted on Tuesday when Basu, speaking during a debate on alleged attacks on Bengalis in BJP-ruled states, recalled incidents where he said the Army dismantled protest sites in West Bengal.
Photo: IANS
The Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, today announced plans to hold a protest march and rally in Dum Dum later this month, accusing state Education Minister Bratya Basu of making “disparaging” comments about the Indian Army during a special assembly session.
The row erupted on Tuesday when Basu, speaking during a debate on alleged attacks on Bengalis in BJP-ruled states, recalled incidents where he said the Army dismantled protest sites in West Bengal.
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The minister made the remark during a debate on a motion condemning attacks and atrocities against Bengali-speaking people in several BJP-ruled states.
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He went on to compare the Indian Army’s dismantling of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) protest stage with Operation Searchlight, the brutal crackdown launched by Pakistan’s Army in Bangladesh in 1971.
“I remembered that night in Dhaka when the Pakistani Army entered and shot people in their own country,” Basu said in the Assembly, triggering an uproar among Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators.
Adhikari and other BJP members staged vociferous protests, prompting Speaker Biman Banerjee to suspend the Opposition leader for disorderly conduct.
After party members staged a walk out from the Assembly, the BJP circulated video clips of Basu’s remarks on social media, alleging that the minister had insulted India’s armed forces.
“The Education Minister has compared our Army to Pakistan’s. This is unacceptable,” Adhikari said.
BJP leaders said the planned march in Dum Dum, Basu’s constituency, aims to reach out to local voters before Durga Puja festivities begin across Bengal later this month.
“We want every voter in Dum Dum to know what their minister has said, so they can decide wisely in 2026,” Adhikari told reporters.
Party insiders said further demonstrations were being considered in other parts of the state.
“We will not allow this insult to the Indian Army to go unchallenged,” another BJP legislator said.
Basu has not formally responded to the BJP’s allegations, but his remarks were framed in the context of political and cultural struggles in Bengal. The controversy marks a fresh flashpoint in the bitter rivalry between the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP, which has positioned itself as the main opposition ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
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