Abhishek urges unity within party, attacks BJP during TMC meet
Times of India | 6 August 2025
Kolkata: A day after being appointed Trinamool's leader in Lok Sabha, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee launched a scathing attack on BJP during a virtual meeting with nearly 9,000 party functionaries on Tuesday.
Amid preparations for the 2026 assembly elections, Banerjee underscored the need for discipline and accountability within the party. He warned against infighting and favouritism within party ranks, saying, "Everyone is a soldier of Mamata Banerjee.
"He instructed booth-level party workers to conduct voter list verifications and report irregularities by Aug 31. "If BJP tries to drop even one name, they will not be allowed to step in Bengal," he warned. He also instructed party functionaries to say "Jai Bangla" when they see BJP netas.
He accused the Election Commission of being influenced by BJP and expressed doubts about the role of BLOs (booth level officers). He urged party workers to hold 80,000 meetings across the state to reach out to the people. He said functionaries in booths or blocks where the party lost by more than 100 votes must be replaced.
Banerjee hailed the state govt's doorstep grievance redressal programme, ‘Amader Para, Amader Samadhan', as a historic first since Independence. He urged party workers to showcase development initiatives and expose BJP's "divisive politics".
Referring to a recent Delhi Police letter that allegedly labelled Bengali as "Bangladeshi language", Banerjee accused BJP of repeatedly insulting Bengal and its culture. "This is why we call them ‘Bangla birodhi' and ‘zamindars'. How dare they call Bangla bhasha as Bangladeshi?" he asked. He questioned why no BJP MLA spoke out against the "insult" meted out by BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya towards Bengalis.
The TMC MP also raised concerns over issues like the NRC in Assam, the SIR, and alleged cases of fake residential certificates in Bihar. He reiterated that the Centre owed Bengal over Rs 1.75 lakh crore in dues.