Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday declared that the Central government will take firm action against illegal infiltrators in West Bengal as per the Constitution irrespective of the Trinamool Congress's efforts to protect them.
He made the statement while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Durgapur, which is part of West Burdwan district's industrial pocket.
Modi attacked the governing Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, blaming it for fostering a culture that not only allows but promotes infiltration. In his view, while Bengali communities are held in esteem and respected in BJP-ruled states, residents of West Bengal still languish due to the suspected protection of illegal immigrants by the state government.
"The illegal infiltrators are being supplied with fraudulent Indian identity documents in West Bengal. The whole ecosystem has been set up in West Bengal to promote illegal infiltration. These illegal infiltrators are threats to national security. They are threats to Bengali culture. Trinamool Congress had jeopardized the honour of the state simply due to narrow political calculations," the Prime Minister asserted.
Modi accused TMC of starting a new campaign to justify these illegal entrants, even when the whole nation had become aware of the real agenda of the party. He also accused the party of subverting both Constitutional norms and institutions that were meant to enforce them.
"But I want to say clearly that those are not Indian citizens, and those who are illegal infiltrators will be dealt with as per Constitutional provisions," he stated.
Political commentators interpret the Prime Minister's remarks as a calculated riposte to the recent West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's complaint about the treatment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-governed states. Banerjee had complained that Bengalis were being singled out unjustly and branded as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Rejecting such accusations, Modi stressed the regard in which Bengalis are held in BJP-ruled states. He highlighted the party's acknowledgement of the Bengali language and culture.
"The origin of the BJP is in West Bengal. Thus Bengalis are hugely respected in BJP-ruled states. BJP had accorded Bengali the status of a classical language. BJP recognizes Bengali language as a heritage of rich cultural heritage," added the Prime Minister.
His comments highlight the BJP's twin narrative—of national security while asserting its cultural devotion to the Bengali identity—as it prepares for an election in West Bengal that's increasingly political.
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