Infiltration has dangerously altered Bengal’s demography: Amit Shah

Amit Shah blamed the TMC government for stalled border fencing and rising infiltration from Bangladesh into West Bengal

December 30, 2025

Bengal demography altered due to infiltration under TMC: Amit Shah

Corruption, violence and women’s safety dominate Shah’s attack on TMC

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday mounted an all-out political offensive against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her government of actively enabling Bangladeshi infiltration and allowing a “dangerous demographic transformation” of the state for narrow electoral gains.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Shah said infiltration had become the single biggest threat to Bengal’s security, identity and future, and declared that a BJP government would decisively end it after coming to power with a two-thirds majority in the 2026 Assembly elections. He asserted that the people of Bengal had already made up their minds and that the BJP would form the next government after April 15, 2026.

Shah announced that the BJP would construct a near-impenetrable national security grid along the India-Bangladesh border to stop illegal entry once and for all. “Forget humans, even birds will not be able to breach the grid we intend to build,” he said, signalling zero tolerance. He added that the BJP government would not merely stop infiltration but would identify infiltrators one by one and deport them from the country.

Launching a direct attack on Mamata Banerjee, Shah accused her of deliberately obstructing border security. He said the Centre had been unable to complete fencing along the Bangladesh border in West Bengal because the state government refused to provide land, making Bengal the only border state guilty of such non-cooperation. “She blames the BSF, but it is her government that is blocking border fencing,” Shah said.

The Home Minister questioned why infiltration was rampant only in West Bengal while BJP-ruled border states like Assam and Tripura had contained it. He alleged that infiltration in Bengal was being allowed under the direct watch of the state government, resulting in a slow but steady change in demography aimed at strengthening a vote bank. “This is not administrative failure; this is political intent,” he said.

Reassuring the Matua community and other persecuted refugees, Shah said the BJP remained committed to protecting their rights and said they had nothing to fear from citizenship verification exercises. “All religiously persecuted refugees will be protected. Even Mamata Banerjee cannot harm them,” he asserted.

Shah also accused the Trinamool Congress of turning Bengal into a hub of corruption, lawlessness and fear, claiming it had surpassed even the Left in political violence. He cited incidents at RG Kar Medical College, Sandeshkhali and South Calcutta Law College as proof that women are unsafe under the current regime.

He alleged that senior TMC leaders had landed in jail on corruption charges and claimed that Bengal’s economy had collapsed, with over 7,000 industries fleeing the state due to extortion, political instability and misgovernance. “TMC is now synonymous with corruption. Development in Bengal has come to a complete standstill,” Shah said.

On law and order, Shah accused the ruling party of systematic political persecution, claiming more than 300 BJP workers have been killed and thousands driven out of their homes unless they submit to the TMC. “This is not governance; this is organised intimidation,” he said.

Appealing to voters, Shah said Bengal had tried Congress, the Left and the TMC, and urged people to now give the BJP a chance. He said the state stood at a crossroads and could either continue on a path of fear, infiltration and decline, or reclaim its heritage, security and prosperity under a strong BJP government.

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