Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday accused Mamata Banerjee of habitually playing “victim-card” politics, suggesting she got “her leg fractured” during the 2021 campaign and alleging she was repeating the tactic to attack the Election Commission this time.
“Mamata Didi always plays politics using the victim card. Sometimes she gets her leg fractured; sometimes she appears with a bandage on her head,” Shah said while releasing the BJP’s 40-page “chargesheet” against the Trinamool government at a New Town hotel.
“At times, she falls ill, and now she has been portraying herself as helpless before the (Election) Commission and falsely criticising it.”
Mamata had suffered a gash to her left leg on March 10, 2021, in Nandigram, the constituency from where she contested against the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.
Within a few days, she was campaigning across the state with a bandaged leg, often participating in marches in a wheelchair.
Many within Trinamool and the BJP believe that Mamata’s attempt to use her injury to win voter sympathy was a resounding success, and contributed heavily to her party’s landslide win.
“But Mamata Didi, I want to tell you that the people of Bengal have clearly understood this politics of using the victim card,” Shah said.
“Using abusive language against a constitutional body like the Election Commission does not suit the culture of Bengal.”
Shah blamed alleged lapses by state government officials for the complications arising from the SIR process, which has caused massive harassment and anxiety to voters and excluded millions, especially women and minorities.
He said the SIR had been conducted in several states, including DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu and CPM-ruled Kerala, but Bengal was the only state where the Supreme Court had to appoint judicial officers to settle disputed cases.
“What is different in Bengal that the Supreme Court had to appoint judicial officers? Mamata Banerjee must answer before the people of Bengal,” he said.
Shah said: “Your (Mamata’s) district magistrates did not work fearlessly, which is why the Supreme Court had to deploy judicial officers.”
Trinamool says the Bengal SIR has been like none other, involving the deliberate disenfranchisement of pro-Mamata demographic groups, such as women. The Centre’s own data shows the SIR has lowered the women-to-men ratio among Bengal’s voters after14 years.
Shah repeated the BJP’s standard allegation that Trinamool’s opposition to the SIR stemmed from its desire to protect the illegal immigrants whom he accused it ofsheltering.
The “chargesheet” has a chapter on “infiltration”. While releasing it, Shah flagged five crucial aspects of alleged misgovernance as “pancha biparjay” (five disasters): corruption, “infiltration”, “appeasement” politics, economic decline andlawlessness.
The document highlights the “bhoi” (fear) under Trinamool rule, pitting against it the BJP’s promise of “bharosa” (trust or reassurance) in its manifesto.
Shah, who has been overseeing the BJP’s Bengal election preparations, said the Narendra Modi government’s policy was to identify infiltrators and remove them from the country. “Not just from the voters’ list, we will ensure that infiltrators are identified one by one and pushed out of the country. It’s our agenda,” he said.
Political analysts said Shah’s comments reflected the BJP’s assessment that Mamata and her party had used the widespread voter anguish over the SIR to partly neutralise anti-incumbencysentiments.
The Union home minister claimed that after the 2026 Assembly elections, “Anga-Banga-Kalinga” (Assam, Bengal and Odisha) will all be under BJP rule.
Responding to Mamata’s allegations of attacks on Bengali-speaking migrant workers in other states, Shah said there should be no issues for genuine residents of Bengal but the Centre would not tolerate Bengali-speaking “infiltrators”.