PM Modi in Bengal: Four rallies in tribal heartlands to address ‘15 years of TMC neglect’

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold four campaign rallies across tribal-dominated regions of West Bengal on Sunday, intensifying the political battle ahead of the state’s upcoming two-phase Assembly elections.

A state committee member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated that the prime minister’s addresses will likely centre on the grievances of tribal communities and the alleged 15-year neglect of their demands by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) administration.

“The Prime Minister is also likely to make a strong reference to the recent controversy over the alleged insult of President Droupudi Murmu, during her recent visit to West Bengal to address an international seminar on the Santal Community,” the official stated.

Furthermore, the prime minister is expected to launch a rigorous critique of the TMC and other opposition factions for their role in blocking the Women’s Reservation (Amendment) Bill.

Campaign Itinerary

The prime minister’s schedule begins at 11 a.m. in Barjora, Bankura district. He will then proceed to Purulia at 12:45 p.m., followed by a 2:45 p.m. appearance in Jhargram, before concluding the day with a 4:30 p.m. rally in Medinipur, West Midnapore district.

The Women’s Reservation Conflict

The visit follows a nationwide address by the prime minister on Saturday night, in which he expressed profound regret and apologised to the women of India after the constitutional amendment failed to pass in Parliament. The legislative defeat has sparked a fierce political exchange within the state.

The Trinamool Congress dismissed the prime minister’s televised apology as an act of "self-pity and pretence," characterising it as an attempt to utilise women’s representation to mask a "delimitation conspiracy."

In a sharply worded statement, the TMC challenged the prime minister’s record on women’s safety: “The Prime Minister would have apologised when women were paraded naked on the streets of Manipur or were molested and groped on camera in Bihar, Dalit and tribal women were raped and brutalised in BJP-ruled states, Your own leaders committed some of the most ghastly acts of sexual violence and your leaders made misogynistic, derogatory, and vile remarks against women in public.”

Opposition and BJP Reactions

The CPI(M) also entered the fray, with Politburo member and state secretary Md Salim accusing the prime minister of utilising the issue to foster divisive politics.

“The Prime Minister deliberately brought the Women's Bill to the centre of controversy to deliberately postpone the issue of women's reservation,” Salim said.

Conversely, the West Bengal unit of the BJP maintained that the prime minister’s national message provided a "crystal-clear" explanation of how opposition parties utilised the delimitation issue as a pretext to obstruct the landmark legislation.

With inputs from IANS