Bengal becomes RSS research laboratory, crush it: Md Salim
The Statesman | 20 November 2025
CPI-M politburo member and state secretary Mohammed Salim on Wednesday delivered a sharp political message to leaders of various Left parties, urging them to “break and crush” what he described as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) expanding “enclosures” across the country – from Gujarat to West Bengal.
Speaking at a special session organised during the 13 state conference of CPI (ML) Liberation in Naihati, Salim warned that Bengal had now become a “research laboratory” for the RSS. “During the Left era, the RSS could not set foot in this state. Under the Trinamul Congress regime, RSS, BJP and Trinamul have become indistinguishable. They operate together, and this has made the danger pervasive,” he said, accusing the ruling party of enabling “unrestricted movement” of saffron groups in pursuit of its own political gains. The conference, which began on Tuesday, saw leaders of six major Left organisations share a common platform.
Besides Salim, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, SUCI(C) state secretary Chandidas Bhattacharya, CPI state secretary Swapan Banerjee, Forward Bloc state secretary Naren Chattopadhyay and RSP state secretary Tapan Hore addressed the gathering. The central thrust of the meeting was a call for a broader Left unity to resist the “fascist offensive” and revive Bengal’s democratic and political environment. Speakers emphasised that the Left must rise again in Bengal, and that unification of Left forces was necessary to restore the state’s political balance. Referring to the early 2000s, Salim recalled that the RSS, despite limited strength nationwide, had managed to build its “first major laboratory” in Gujarat by using the banner of Hindutva.
“From state to state, they experimented with different models. Now Bengal is their new model, where they seek to destroy democracy and run a laboratory of polarisation,” he said. In an apparent reference to differences within the Left over strategy, Salim told the audience that disagreements over specific issues were natural. “That is why we are separate parties. But if the goal is clear, temporary misunderstandings must be handled within a democratic framework. What matters is deciding who our real adversary is,” he added.