Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Political tensions flared in West Bengal after Trinamool Congress MLA and party’s Malda district president Abdur Rahim Bakhshi threatened to pour acid in the BJP legislator’s mouth during a public rally.
Speaking at a protest rally in Inayatnagar under Malatipur Assembly constituency, organised by the Trinamool Congress on Saturday evening, Bakhshi launched an attack on BJP leaders. The rally was called to protest alleged atrocities on Bengalis in other states and the alleged insult to the Bengali language.
The alleged threat was issued against BJP leader Shankar Ghosh but without naming him. While referring to Ghosh’s past statements made in the assembly calling migrant workers from Bengal as “Rohingyas” or “Bangladeshis,” Bakhshi said, “The one who shamelessly says that the 30 lakh migrant workers of Bengal who work outside are not Bengalis… they are Rohingyas, they are Bangladeshis. He shouted this…If I hear this from you again, I will burn your voice to ashes with acid inside your mouth. You should know that this is West Bengal. We Bengalis will not give you a place to speak. I will burn your face with acid,” Bakhshi said.
He also asked people to “tear down BJP flags” and to socially boycott the party in the district. Bakhshi further urged people to socially boycott BJP leaders. He told the crowd, “Boycott BJP. Tear down their flags.” He even warned of physical assault, saying people should beat up BJP members if required. The TMC district president alleged that Bengalis were being killed in BJP-ruled states while local BJP supporters in Bengal were not raising their voices. “That is why BJP cannot be allowed in this region,” he said.
Although his remarks drew widespread criticism, Bakhshi defended himself before the media, claiming, “I did not make any undemocratic statement.” A few years ago, he had threatened to cut off the hands and feet of leaders and workers of the BJP, CPI(M) and Congress sparking controversy.
The remarks quickly drew condemnation from the BJP, which accused the ruling party of fostering a culture of intimidation and violence. Khagen Murmu, BJP’s Member of Parliament from Malda Uttar, said such threats reflected the ruling party’s desperation ahead of the state polls.
“This is the culture of the Trinamool Congress. Their job is to intimidate people. Such statements are happening all the time in Malda now. The district president of TMC often says such things to be in the news. The fear that Trinamool will lose in the next assembly elections is working for them,” Mr Murmu said.
Reacting sharply to the controversy, BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya accused the Trinamool Congress of normalising political violence. In a post on X, Malviya reminded that this was not an isolated incident, pointing out that Bakhshi had, a few years ago, threatened to cut off the hands and feet of workers belonging to BJP, CPI(M), and Congress. According to him, such remarks reflected the entrenched culture of intimidation within the TMC.
He further alleged that violence was the hallmark of the Trinamool Congress’s political strategy. Malviya claimed that in districts like Malda and Murshidabad, where, in his words, “illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas form Mamata Banerjee’s committed vote bank,” such threats were indicative of how the ruling party sustained its politics. Concluding his remarks, he posed a sharp question: “Is this democracy or terror?”
BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari, in response to Bakshi’s statements, said BJP workers would not “bow down, be afraid, or stop” adding that they believe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision. “This clearly shows that TMC wants to threaten the people of Bengal who expose their support of infiltrators and Rohingyas for their vote bank.”
The BJP has also staged protests in Malda, with Mr Murmu leading a sit-in demonstration against what he alleged were false police cases being filed against BJP workers.
His latest statement comes despite repeated warnings from TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who has publicly cautioned her party colleagues against using derogatory or inflammatory language. At a recent review meeting to assess preparedness for the upcoming state assembly elections, Ms Banerjee had reminded leaders that irresponsible remarks could damage the party’s image.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has made it compulsory for all shops, restaurants, and other commercial establishments in the city to display Bengali on their signboards alongside other languages. According to officials, September 30 has been set as the deadline for the implementation of this mandate. A similar circular was issued on December 30, last year, but that instruction has mostly gone unheeded.
Kolkata Municipality Secretary Swapan Kundu said the civic body officials have already started communicating with owners of shops, restaurants, and commercial centres in the city about putting up Bengali signboards. They have reportedly been informed that names of the establishments and crucial information should be written in Bengali alongside other languages on their signboards.
