TMC netas looted Rs 5,000 cr through scams, won’t go scot-free: Shah
Times of India | 14 April 2026
Kolkata: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday accused Trinamool of embezzling more than Rs 5,000 crore through multiple scams in Bengal and promised to make its netas accountable for "every penny" looted from people.
Addressing a rally at Mayureswar in Birbhum, Shah also assured that Election Commission will ensure free and fair polls in Bengal, warning "Trinamool's goons" to "stay indoors" on April 23, the first day of polling.
"Those who have embezzled more than Rs 5,000 crore from scams will not go scot-free. They will have to return the money they took from people," he said, adding that the money siphoned off could easily fund welfare schemes.
Addressing three rallies during the day, from Mayureswar and Khairasol in Birbhum to Andal in West Burdwan, Shah trained his guns directly on CM Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, linking syndicates to them.
"Syndicate takes a cut, whether it is a supply of bricks or a bag of cement. The entire money is routed to Didi-Bhaipo's syndicate," he said at Mayureswar, highlighting CBI's searches at a cooperative bank in Suri last year in connection with fake accounts being used to launder money from illegal trades.
The Union home minister, who earlier distanced BJP from Humayun Kabir, drawing a North Pole-South Pole analogy, accused TMC of appeasement by linking Kabir with the party. "Humayun Kabir is Mamata Banerjee's man. He wants to build a Babri masjid in Bengal. BJP will never allow that," he said, accusing Mamata of opposing construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Shah raked up the issue of riots and attacks on Ram Navami processions. "Didi has threatened the majority community. How can Trinamool threaten us?" he said, promising to investigate each case of riots between 2016 and 2026.
Shah also harped on the 600 acres that was denied by the state govt to BSF to put up fencing along the India-Bangladesh border. "The infiltrators should leave the country before May 5 evening. Their time has come to an end," he said.
Sounding a caution to "Trinamool's musclemen", Shah said a "BJP govt in the state will put each one behind bars after May 5." He asked people to "look for the lotus symbol on the EVM machine and press the button", assuring "freedom from jungleraaj". Reiterating that Mamata would "play the victim card", Shah warned voters not to get "deceived by her theatrics".
He also promised a "rehabilitation package" for "nearly 21,000 people displaced in Deucha-Pachami (proposed mining zone)" and "29,000 families relocated under Raniganj Master plan" (package for families in subsidence-prone areas).