BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday demanded that the Bengal government hand over land near the 540km-long stretch of the India-Bangladesh border to the Union home ministry to fortify the frontier.

Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, was in Siliguri to attend a “Tiranga Yatra,” a march organised by the BJP to celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor.

He spoke to media persons ahead of the march and was critical of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her government.

“She should hand over land to the MHA to erect fences along the 540km (India-Bangladesh) border. The BSF is there to take care of the borders. Yesterday (on Wednesday), she had said people from Assam and Bihar were entering Bengal. India is a free country, and any Indian can travel to any other state,” he said.

“The chief minister, however, didn’t utter a word about Bangladesh from where criminals and militants entered India and were staying in Bengal. The police of other states, including Assam, have arrested these people from Bengal,” added Adhikari.

The leader of the Opposition reached Siliguri a day after Mamata had returned to Calcutta following a three-day visit to north Bengal. He furnished the budgetary allocations and the expenditure made by the north Bengal development department over the past few fiscal years.

The department was formed by Mamata in 2011 after she assumed the chief minister’s office for the first time.

“There are huge gaps in the budgetary allocations and the final release of funds of the north Bengal development department. This shows how insincere the state government is so far as north Bengal is concerned,” said Adhikari.

Speaking at a public distribution programme in Siliguri on Tuesday, Mamata had said: “Let it be clear that not only are the funds of the NB development department spent in this region. Funds of many other state departments are allocated for the north
Bengal districts.”

Taking a dig at the Mamata government, the BJP leader claimed that around 22 lakh people from north Bengal had migrated to other states in search of jobs.

“The region needs employment, and the state has failed to provide it. That is why so many people have moved to other states,” he said.

Told about the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Alipurdur on May 29, the leader of the Opposition said: “Geographically, Alipurduar is an important district. It is also the BJP’s strong base. Thousands of people will attend the meeting to hear the Prime Minister.”

He said the BJP would win all 54 Assembly seats in north Bengal in the 2026 elections.

In 2021, the BJP had bagged 30 seats while the TMC had won 23 seats. However, the BJP’s tally came down after the TMC won bypolls. Some BJP MLAs defected to the TMC, which led to a loss of face for the party.

Late in the afternoon, Adhikari joined the march with Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, BJP MLAs and party leaders and supporters.