'Don't trust Amit Shah': Mamata invokes Mir Jafar to warn PM Modi

Speaking to the reporters on Wednesday, Mamata accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deliberately deleting voters' names in the poll-bound state through the Election Commission of India.

Mamata said, "Cuttack is on the boil. BJP itself has created a riot there. I am sorry to say but BJP will ruin the country. I have seen many governments but not as arrogant and dictatorial like the present one. They should remember power is transient. Nothing is permanent. They want to eliminate the names of voters through SIR. Is it possible to conduct SIR within 15 days amid natural calamities, rainy season and festivals. What do they think of themselves?

"Will it be a commission of the BJP or for the civic rights? This is Amit Shah's game. He is working as the acting Prime Minister but the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) knows everything. I am sorry to say. We can request the Prime Minister 'Don't trust Amit Shah always' otherwise he will turn out to be your Mir Jafar (18th century military general infamous for his betrayal of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah) one day. He should be careful. Morning shows the day."

Shah, a former BJP president, is the de facto number two of the country's ruling party, which is spearheaded by Prime Minister Modi.

A fresh faceoff between Mamata's Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP broke out after some locals in North Bengal's Nagrakata chased and assaulted saffron party MP Khagen Murmu and state MLA Shankar Ghosh when they visited the flood-hit areas.

The BJP claims the attackers belong to the TMC while the ruling party has completely rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, the state is gearing up for SIR as the ECI team led by Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti held a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for the drive in the state, which goes to polls in 2026 summer.

The team held a number of meetings with District Electoral Officers, Booth Level Officers and other election officers in Kolkata, Rajarhat-Gopalpur and Barasat.

The SIR had earlier triggered a massive confrontation between the State and ECI after the local government had initially refused to suspend four officers who were allegedly involved in the electoral roll discrepancies.

After West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant was summoned to Delhi by the ECI, the four officers were suspended within the deadline fixed by the poll body.

Though initially Mamata and her party dared to not allow SIR in the state, later they toned down at various scales and said they won't allow the poll body to delete a single name unjustifiably from the electoral rolls.