Durgapur:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), accusing it of fostering infiltration, encouraging violence, and forcing the state’s youth to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Addressing a public rally in Durgapur, Modi asserted that the BJP is the only party that genuinely respects and protects Bengali ashmita (pride).

“For the BJP, Bengali ashmita is supreme. Wherever there is a BJP government, Bengalis are respected,” Modi said, responding to the TMC’s recent claims that BJP-ruled states were mistreating Bengali-speaking migrant workers.

Taking a swipe at opposition parties, Modi said that while the Congress, the Left, and the TMC had all shared power in Delhi for years, none of them took steps to honour the Bangla language.

“The TMC is actively helping infiltrators. I want to say this very clearly that those who are not citizens of India and have entered illegally, the law will take its own course in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.

Modi's comments come amid an emotionally charged political atmosphere in West Bengal, where the ruling TMC has raised concerns over alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in several BJP-ruled states, including Assam, Gujarat, Delhi, Odisha, and Maharashtra.

Without naming Mamata Banerjee directly, Modi accused her party of nurturing vote-bank politics at the cost of Bengal's development and security.

“The BJP will not allow any conspiracy to succeed against Bengali ashmita (pride),” he said.

Recalling Bengal's contribution to India's intellectual and cultural awakening, Modi said, "BJP is a pan-India party whose seeds were sown in Bengal.”

He lamented how the state, once a cradle of development, has now become a "symbol of flight" with youths leaving in droves for jobs elsewhere.

“The youths here now have to leave Bengal to look for jobs in other states. The situation here has become increasingly unfavourable for investment and employment,” Modi claimed.