Kolkata (West Bengal), December 18 : All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday slammed the BJP over its attempts to brand West Bengal as a hub of infiltrators and said that the party "deliberately attempt to defame Bengal".
The TMC leader asked if those who insulted ten crore Bengalis would have the courage to apologise publicly.
Speaking to reporters, Banerjee said that the BJP's carefully crafted conspiracy to brand West Bengal as a "breeding ground for infiltrators" has collapsed under the weight of facts.
"The Election Commission's draft voter list released on Tuesday has shattered the BJP's sensational claims of one to one-and-a-half crore Rohingya deletions, exposing a deliberate attempt to defame Bengal and polarise communities for electoral gains," the TMC leader said.
He later demanded accountability from BJP leaders, questioning, "Will those who insulted ten crore Bengalis have the courage to apologise publicly?"
"The conspiracy with which the BJP tried to use the Election Commission to conduct SIR in Bengal has completely failed. Those who insulted Bengal by calling it a breeding ground for Bangladeshis should come before the public and apologise to the 10 crore people of Bengal," Banerjee added.
Further questioning the BJP's divisive politics, he said, "Those who maligned Bengal by calling it a hub of infiltrators and made claims of 1 to 1.5 crore Rohingyas have effectively had their claims rejected by the Election Commission itself."
Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over infiltration concerns, Abhishek said, "If infiltration is the issue, the person who must answer is Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who controls the borders and commands the CRPF."
Highlighting incidents outside Bengal, he added, "Leave Bengal aside, look at what happened in Pahalgam. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has nothing to do with the Kashmir Police. Then how are infiltrators entering there? In Delhi, just days before the Bihar election results were declared on November 11, people died in a blast. Whose responsibility was that? Those who brand Bengalis as infiltrators, harass them, deport them, and even deny Bengali as a language have unleashed targeted torture on Bengalis."
Abhishek also mentioned the case of Sonali Khatun, who was deported to Bangladesh despite her parents' names appearing in the 2002 voter list. "Only after the Supreme Court intervened was she repatriated. I am meeting her and her family in two days. We stood by them throughout, and I want to say clearly, if anyone else is facing such harassment, Trinamool Congress is with you," he said.