Amit Shah blasts TMC over border fencing; Mamata fires back on Pahalgam and Delhi blast

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata during his three-day visit, Shah rejected the TMC’s charge that the Centre should be blamed for infiltration as it controls the Border Security Force (BSF).

“Mamata-ji, today I want to ask you a simple question— which government refuses to provide land for border fencing? I will answer it myself. It is your government,” Shah said.

He further questioned the role of state authorities, asking what patwaris and police stations were doing and why infiltrators were not being sent back.

Shah claimed infiltration has been curtailed in Assam and Tripura and alleged it continues only in West Bengal.

Amit Shah addressing a presser in Kolkata. Photo: BJP Media Cell

“This is happening under your watch. You want to change Bengal’s demography to expand your vote bank,” he alleged.

Shah, who arrived in Kolkata late Monday, also held meetings with senior BJP leaders to review the party’s preparedness for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, in which the BJP is aiming to unseat the TMC.

Calling infiltration a matter of national security, Shah said the BJP must be voted to power in the 2026 polls to secure the state’s borders. “Infiltration through Bengal’s borders is not just a state issue; it is a national security concern. Only the BJP can seal Bengal’s borders,” he said.

Mamata counters Shah

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit back sharply, listing parcels of land she claimed the state government had provided for border-related infrastructure and launching a scathing attack on Shah.

“A Dushasana has come to Bengal. Whenever elections come, Dushasana and Duryodhana arrive. Today he claimed Mamata Banerjee did not give land. Then who gave land in Petrapole and Andal?” Banerjee said, in a veiled reference to the Home Minister during her rally in Bankura. 

Mamata Banerjee at her rally in Bankura. Photo: AITC Media Cell

Countering Shah’s infiltration claims, the TMC supremo also raised questions over recent terror incidents.

“They are saying infiltrators are coming to Bengal. Did they carry out the Pahalgam attack or the Delhi blast?” she asked.