The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to shift focus away from the shortcomings of the BJP-led Central government by raising issues in West Bengal. Responding to Modi&rsquo;s comments about the state&rsquo;s problems, the TMC issued five &lsquo;counter-questions&rsquo; challenging the Prime Minister&rsquo;s claims.
In a post on the social media platform X, the TMC called on Modi to first address the situation in Manipur, where law and order issues have persisted for over two years. The party wrote, &ldquo;Modi ji listed 5 &lsquo;Sankats&rsquo;. Let&rsquo;s talk facts.&rdquo;
Regarding Modi&rsquo;s points, the TMC highlighted the BJP&rsquo;s record on women&rsquo;s safety, referring to the Unnao and Hathras incidents, and said the party&rsquo;s history was &ldquo;soaked in silence and shame.&rdquo; On youth issues, the regional party cited &ldquo;paper leaks, NEET scam, and 45 per cent unemployment&rdquo; as a &ldquo;national gift to students&rdquo; from the BJP.
The TMC also countered the corruption allegation by pointing out that &ldquo;half your Cabinet is out on bail,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;Irony died a slow death.&rdquo; The party reiterated its accusation that Bengal was denied funds under the MGNREGA and Awas Yojana due to &ldquo;vendetta politics&rdquo; by the Modi government.
Earlier on Thursday, Modi launched a fierce attack on the West Bengal government led by the TMC, describing the state as being &ldquo;plagued&rdquo; by violence, corruption, and lawlessness. Speaking at a rally in Alipurduar, he claimed the people were seeking change from what he called the &ldquo;Nirmam sarkar&rdquo; or &ldquo;cruel government.&rdquo;
Pointing to communal violence in Murshidabad and Malda, Modi said these events were stark reminders of the TMC regime&rsquo;s &ldquo;cruelty and indifference&rdquo; towards ordinary citizens&rsquo; suffering. He said, &ldquo;Today, West Bengal is grappling with a series of crises. People don&rsquo;t want &lsquo;Nirmam Sarkar&rsquo;. They want change and good governance. That is why the whole of Bengal is saying they don&rsquo;t want cruelty and corruption anymore.&rdquo;
Modi outlined five crises confronting West Bengal. He said the first was &ldquo;widespread violence and lawlessness that are tearing apart the fabric of society.&rdquo; The second was &ldquo;the growing sense of insecurity among mothers and sisters, compounded by horrific crimes committed against them.&rdquo;
He identified the third crisis as &ldquo;deepening despair among the youth, driven by rising unemployment and lack of opportunities.&rdquo; The fourth was &ldquo;pervasive corruption&rdquo; undermining public confidence in the system.
Finally, Modi described the fifth crisis as &ldquo;the self-serving politics of the ruling party, which is stripping the poor of their rightful entitlements.&rdquo; He cited the incidents in Murshidabad and Malda as clear examples of the TMC government&rsquo;s cruelty and inability to maintain law and order.
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(With inputs from agencies)
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(Left) Mamata Banerjee and PM Narendra Modi (Right)

TMC challenges PM Modi’s criticism of Bengal, citing central failures on law, youth issues, corruption, and welfare.

TMC Counters Modi’s Bengal Remarks with 5 Questions

TMC challenges PM Modi’s criticism of Bengal, citing central failures on law, youth issues, corruption, and welfare.

May 29, 2025 | 17:33 IST