TMC lauds PM's ‘poribartan'

Time of India

18-07-2025

Kolkata:
on Friday feted the "poribartan (change)" in Prime Minister
hours after he began his speech at Durgapur with "Jai Ma Kali, Jai Ma Durga".
"The PM said he wants poribartan (change).
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But what has changed? The change has come in Narendra Modi. He has shifted from chanting 'Jai Sri Ram' to 'Jai Ma Kali' and 'Jai Ma Durga'. Such a transformation shows Bengal's soil has changed him," Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said at a press meet where 'singara' and 'jalebi' were served to all as a reminder to the now-withdrawn diktat against these traditional Indian snacks by the central govt.
Accusing
of using God as "a political brand ambassador" and, therefore, leaning on Lord Ram, Ghosh said, "Some leaders on the dais chanted Jai Sri Ram today as well, but the PM quickly made his stance clear by paying homage to Ma Kali and Ma Durga."
At the same press meet, minister Chandrima Bhattacharya slammed the PM for claiming that youth were fleeing the state due to a lack of jobs. "Bengali labourers are skilled, which is why they work all over India," she said, and drawing attention to the harassment of Bengali-speaking workers in BJP-governed states, she added, "You are hindering the right to speech and movement. You are insulting Bengalis. Your double-engine govts are expelling Bengalis, labelling them Rohingya.
It is clear that you are under pressure to learn Bengali. Why didn't you criticise the expelling of Bengalis from BJP-governed states?"
In a post on X, Trinamool Congress also demanded answers to five questions: "Is speaking Bangla a crime? If yes, does that make him a criminal too for singing the National Anthem and National Song, both written in Bangla? If no, why are Bengali-speaking citizens being detained and deported in BJP-ruled states? Which provision of the Constitution allows state-sponsored persecution based on language? And does BJP truly believe this is how they'll earn the mandate of the people of Bengal?"
Countering the PM's claims on women being unsafe in Bengal, Bhattacharya asked, "Do you have deep concern for women? What about the girl in Odisha who burned herself to death? You said nothing about her.
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Here, all crimes against women are taken seriously, with quick arrests, be it RG Kar or the law college incident. We criticise such crimes."
Ghosh alleged the PM was engaging in political deceit since he had arrived in Bengal empty-handed, without settling the state's NREGA scheme dues worth Rs 1.7 lakh crores. "He spoke of an invisible Rs 5,000 crore and is spreading falsehoods. He promised 22 crore jobs, but in reality, only 22 lakh jobs were provided.
He is only spreading lies. BJP will not even get 50 seats in the upcoming state election," he said.
Earlier in the day, minister Sashi Panja criticised the Centre for their inability to nab the terrorists behind the Pahalgam attack. "It has been 88 days since 26 people were brutally killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, yet the nation has received no answers. Who allowed terrorists to infiltrate 200 km, kill, and vanish undetected? If this is a security lapse, it is also a grave intelligence failure. Bengal demands to know, where are the attackers? What happened after the sketches were released? Silence is not an option," she said.