Bengal government begins crackdown on TMC: Minister Dilip Ghosh asserts ‘all corruption cases will be reopened’
The Statesman | 13 May 2026
West Bengal minister and senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday alleged that “most Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders are corrupt” and declared that all pending corruption-related cases linked to the previous regime would now be reopened for fresh investigation under the new BJP government in the state.
The remarks come days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed its first government in West Bengal under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, marking a dramatic political shift after decades of TMC dominance in the state.
Speaking in Kolkata after assuming charge as a minister in the new government, Dilip Ghosh claimed that investigations into corruption allegations against TMC leaders had earlier been blocked due to a lack of administrative and police approval.
“Most TMC leaders are corrupt. Until now, the police and government hadn’t given permission, so investigations weren’t happening, but now all cases will be restarted. Investigations will be conducted into everything. What the public wants will happen,” Ghosh said.
The statements are being seen as the clearest indication yet that the newly formed BJP government in West Bengal plans to aggressively pursue corruption allegations linked to leaders of the previous TMC administration.
Political tensions in the state have sharply escalated since Suvendu Adhikari took oath as West Bengal’s first BJP Chief Minister on May 9 following the party’s sweeping victory in the Assembly elections. On Monday, Adhikari finalised the allocation of portfolios among ministers as the new government moved quickly to establish administrative control. According to the official allocation, Dilip Ghosh has been entrusted with the Rural Development, Panchayats, and Animal Resources Department.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s latest hearing related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Ghosh alleged, “Those whose names have been removed have been given the right by the tribunal to go and file FIRs. Mistakes can happen anywhere, but this is not a mistake; it has been done deliberately by TMC members.”
Ghosh also spoke about issues related to potato farmers in West Bengal, stating that excess production had led to a fall in prices and financial distress among farmers. “This time, potato production has been higher, so their prices have gone down, and that’s why farmers have committed suicide,” he said.
He further noted that restrictions on potato sales outside Bengal imposed during the Mamata government had now been lifted.
“Mamata Banerjee had stopped potatoes from being sold out of Bengal. Yesterday, our Chief Minister announced that potatoes will be sold everywhere. They should get their price. Discussions are going on regarding this,” he added.
The senior BJP leader said the new government had already begun implementing key promises made during the election campaign.
“Our Chief Minister has clarified everything before the press regarding how the government will function and what it will do; the six major decisions we had taken have now been implemented in accordance with the policy we had declared,” Ghosh said.