Alipurduar/Kolkata: PM Narendra Modi sounded the poll bugle in Bengal from Alipurduar on Thursday with his repeated references to the state’s “nirmam sarkar (cruel govt)” giving an indication of the BJP’s strategy for the 2026 assembly election in the state.
Modi devoted more than half of his 35-minute speech to pinning down the Trinamool Congress on issues like the teachers’ recruitment scam and the violent anti-waqf law protests in Murshidabad, but the largest cheers were reserved for the part of his speech that was devoted to the Pahalgam carnage and India’s response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
“I have come to the land that celebrates sindoor khela,” he said, alluding to the popular Durga Puja rite. “People in Bengal were angry after the terror attack and I could understand your anger. The terrorists wiped out our sisters’ sindoor but our soldiers taught them the sindoor’s power,” Modi said in his first public rally in Bengal after Operation Sindoor.
“Pakistan has nurtured terrorism since inception. They attacked us after Partition. They raped the women and terrorised the people of Bangladesh. Pakistani soldiers have expertise in spreading terror and genocide but they fail in battles. That is why they take terror’s help. But we have made them understand that there is a price to pay if there is a terror strike. We entered their homes thrice and struck. We worship Shakti and Mahishasurmardini,” he said in another reference to Goddess Durga, adding that Operation Sindoor was not yet over.
The PM, however, focused more on Bengal politics and political issues for the larger part of his address, starting with the Murshidabad anti-waqf protests and deaths and tying them up with the state’s cruelty to its own people.
“Whatever happened in Murshidabad and Malda was an example of this cruelty. Goons ruled in the name of appeasement. MLAs identified households and they were burnt as cops stood by. The administration is cruel and indifferent to everything. Bangla-r chitkar, lagbe na nirmam sarkar (Bengal does not want this cruel administration,” he said, adding that the judiciary had to intervene in everything to ensure the system ran smoothly.
Modi then focused on the teacher recruitment scam and other corruption issues. “The worst sufferers are the middle class and the poor,” he said referring to how “the future of thousands of teachers” was doomed. “The Trinamool has pushed hundreds of families to the brink and ruined the education system and the future of lakhs of kids,” he added.
“Society is torn by violence and lawlessness. Women are unsafe,” he alleged. “People are losing faith in the system,” he said, reminding BJP workers that they had a tough challenge looming ahead in the 2026 poll. “You have to decide Bengal’s future. We have to bring people’s faith back in democracy and give a guarantee of good governance,” Modi told BJP workers after giving examples of the “progress” made in Assam, Odisha and Tripura where the BJP was in office.
The non-implementation of central schemes in Bengal was another example of the Trinamool administration’s cruelty to people, Modi said, referring to schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Vishwakarma Yojana, PM Jan Man Yojana and PM Awas Yojana.
“Thousands of people are not getting their homes, nearly 8 lakh Vishwakarma Yojana applications are waiting for the state’s approval. They (the Trinamool) are cheating the people of Bengal and depriving them,” he added before specifically mentioning Dalits and Adivasis.
“The Trinamool is taking revenge on the poor, Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Why are they so cruel?” he asked.
Modi devoted more than half of his 35-minute speech to pinning down the Trinamool Congress on issues like the teachers’ recruitment scam and the violent anti-waqf law protests in Murshidabad, but the largest cheers were reserved for the part of his speech that was devoted to the Pahalgam carnage and India’s response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
“I have come to the land that celebrates sindoor khela,” he said, alluding to the popular Durga Puja rite. “People in Bengal were angry after the terror attack and I could understand your anger. The terrorists wiped out our sisters’ sindoor but our soldiers taught them the sindoor’s power,” Modi said in his first public rally in Bengal after Operation Sindoor.
“Pakistan has nurtured terrorism since inception. They attacked us after Partition. They raped the women and terrorised the people of Bangladesh. Pakistani soldiers have expertise in spreading terror and genocide but they fail in battles. That is why they take terror’s help. But we have made them understand that there is a price to pay if there is a terror strike. We entered their homes thrice and struck. We worship Shakti and Mahishasurmardini,” he said in another reference to Goddess Durga, adding that Operation Sindoor was not yet over.
The PM, however, focused more on Bengal politics and political issues for the larger part of his address, starting with the Murshidabad anti-waqf protests and deaths and tying them up with the state’s cruelty to its own people.
“Whatever happened in Murshidabad and Malda was an example of this cruelty. Goons ruled in the name of appeasement. MLAs identified households and they were burnt as cops stood by. The administration is cruel and indifferent to everything. Bangla-r chitkar, lagbe na nirmam sarkar (Bengal does not want this cruel administration,” he said, adding that the judiciary had to intervene in everything to ensure the system ran smoothly.
Modi then focused on the teacher recruitment scam and other corruption issues. “The worst sufferers are the middle class and the poor,” he said referring to how “the future of thousands of teachers” was doomed. “The Trinamool has pushed hundreds of families to the brink and ruined the education system and the future of lakhs of kids,” he added.
“Society is torn by violence and lawlessness. Women are unsafe,” he alleged. “People are losing faith in the system,” he said, reminding BJP workers that they had a tough challenge looming ahead in the 2026 poll. “You have to decide Bengal’s future. We have to bring people’s faith back in democracy and give a guarantee of good governance,” Modi told BJP workers after giving examples of the “progress” made in Assam, Odisha and Tripura where the BJP was in office.
The non-implementation of central schemes in Bengal was another example of the Trinamool administration’s cruelty to people, Modi said, referring to schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Vishwakarma Yojana, PM Jan Man Yojana and PM Awas Yojana.
“Thousands of people are not getting their homes, nearly 8 lakh Vishwakarma Yojana applications are waiting for the state’s approval. They (the Trinamool) are cheating the people of Bengal and depriving them,” he added before specifically mentioning Dalits and Adivasis.
“The Trinamool is taking revenge on the poor, Dalits, backward classes and tribals. Why are they so cruel?” he asked.
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