PM Modi; Sagarika Ghose
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and journalist-turned-politician Sagarika Ghose on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for referring to “conquering” West Bengal during his victory speech after the Bihar assembly election results. “I’d like to offer Mr. Narendra Modi a few reality checks. He spoke as though Bengal is something to be ‘conquered’, a piece of land to be added to his CV,” Ghose told PTI.She cited two reasons why, in her view, the BJP would never be able to “conquer” West Bengal.
“First, Bengal will never accept the kind of politics practised by Mr. Modi and the BJP — using money, divide-and-rule tactics, muscle power, and violence. Bengal rejects this,” she said. “Second, we have a leader like Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on the ground with the people 24×7. She is not a ‘hawai jahaz’ leader who only flies in for votes. She is constantly with the people,” the Rajya Sabha MP added.“Poor and vulnerable Indian citizens travelling across the country for work are being labelled ‘ghuspetia’ (infiltrators) just because they speak Bangla. They are Indian citizens trying to earn a living, and this dirty divide-and-rule politics is unacceptable. Bengal will never accept this,” she said. Earlier, speaking at the BJP headquarters in Delhi after the party-led coalition’s victory in Bihar, PM Modi had said that “just as the Ganga flows from Bihar to West Bengal, this victory signals the BJP’s win in West Bengal as well.” West Bengal, which borders Bihar, will hold its next assembly elections in April–May 2026, where Banerjee will seek a fourth consecutive term as chief minister.