Will ‘remove infiltrators from Bengal’; Hindu refugees have nothing to worry: Amit Shah

KOLKATA, March 2: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday escalated the BJP’s “infiltration” pitch in West Bengal, declaring that while “only names are being deleted now” from the state’s electoral rolls under the SIR, infiltrators would be “removed from the state” once the party comes to power, raising the stakes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.
Launching the BJP’s ‘Poroborton Yatra’ from Mathurapur in South 24 Parganas district in the state, his first visit since the publication of the post-SIR rolls on Saturday, Shah sought to draw a clear distinction between “infiltrators” and “Hindu refugees”, assuring the latter that they have “nothing to worry” and would not lose citizenship under a BJP government.
The Union minister slammed the TMC government over what he described as years of unchecked infiltration under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s watch, signalling that border security and citizenship will anchor the BJP’s final electoral push in the run-up to 2026. ”Right now, only names are being deleted from voter rolls, and Mamata Didi is nervous. Once the BJP forms the government, we will identify and remove every infiltrator from Bengal,” he said, addressing a gathering in the coastal belt abutting the Sundarbans and close to the porous Indo-Bangladesh frontier.
His remarks came days after the post-SIR rolls recorded 63.66 lakh deletions, 8.3 per cent of the electorate, reducing the voter base to just over 7.04 crore ahead of assembly polls likely to be held in April. More than 60.06 lakh electors have also been placed in the “under adjudication” category, subject to scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Shah also sought to reassure Hindu refugees from Bangladesh.
“If Mamata Banerjee had not opposed the CAA, every Hindu refugee from Bangladesh would have received citizenship by now. But I have come to tell all Hindu refugees that you don’t have to worry. The BJP government is here for you. Not a single refugee will lose their citizenship,” he said, reiterating the Citizenship Amendment Act plank. Shah alleged that the “TMC has made Bengal a swarg (heaven) for infiltrators,” asserting that the border state’s security had been compromised by what he called appeasement politics. (PTI)