Bengal suffering under 'nirmamta' rule, PM Modi slams Mamata over Murshidabad violence

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, linking recent violence in Murshidabad and Malda to what he described as the Trinamool Congress’s “cruelty and indifference.” Speaking after inaugurating a gas distribution project in Alipurduar, Modi accused the ruling party of failing to maintain law and order in the state.

Using a sharp pun, Modi said Bengal is under the grip of “nirmamta,” a word that means cruelty in Hindi and also plays on Mamata Banerjee’s name. “There’s widespread lawlessness in Bengal. The people have lost faith in the Trinamool government,” he declared, citing incidents of communal violence and growing social unrest as symptoms of deeper governance failure.

The BJP's criticism intensified after a fact-finding committee appointed by the Calcutta High Court blamed local TMC leaders and law enforcement for mishandling the riots in Murshidabad. The violence erupted last month during protests against the Waqf law, and the report noted police inaction and local political complicity.

The Prime Minister’s remarks come as the BJP gears up for the 2026 Bengal assembly elections. The party is leveraging the communal tensions in border districts to accuse the TMC of appeasement politics and neglect of Hindu communities, turning law and order into a central campaign issue.