Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee launched a blistering attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the party’s annual Shahid Dibas rally in Kolkata on Monday, warning that the BJP would be “sent to detention camps” after the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal.
Addressing lakhs of supporters at the rally in Dharamtala, Banerjee, declared that BJP leaders would be made to chant "Joy Bangla" within the next ten months. “After the 2026 elections, it is you whom we will send to detention camps after defeating you democratically,” he thundered.
Reiterating the party’s earlier branding of the BJP as ‘Banglar Birodhi’ (anti-Bengal), Abhishek Banerjee said the slogan coined ahead of the 2024 general elections was not mere political sloganeering but a strategic move to reveal the BJP’s “true character”. “Jonogoner gorjon, Bangla-birodhider bishorjon (the people’s roar, immersion of Bengal’s enemies) wasn’t just a political slogan but the exposure of BJP’s real character,” he asserted.
In a strongly emotive speech, the Diamond Harbour MP accused the BJP of disrespecting the Bengali language and Bengal’s cultural legacy. He took aim at leaders who, he claimed, demeaned Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states and labelled Bengalis as foreigners. “The BJP wants to take Bengalis to detention camps for speaking their language. I want to tell them clearly, after the 2026 elections, we will send you to detention camps,” Banerjee said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.
He also slammed the BJP for attempting to "erode" Bengal’s cultural icons. “Our poets and legends, Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, gave a face to the soul of India. Freedom fighters like Rash Behari Bose, Bagha Jatin, and Khudiram Bose fought not just for Bengal but for the entire subcontinent. Yet the BJP insults the very language they spoke,” he said.
Taking a veiled swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had invoked Goddess Durga and Kali during his recent rally in Durgapur, Banerjee claimed it was a political climbdown under pressure from the people of Bengal. “This is the victory of Bengal. The very people they wanted to starve — today the BJP is bowing before them and chanting ‘Joy Maa Kali’ and ‘Joy Maa Durga’. They used to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, now they’re forced to change their tune,” Banerjee claimed.
The Diamond Harbour MP further alleged that the Centre had used agencies like the Income Tax Department to target Durga Puja committees in Bengal. “They tried to stop Durga Puja. They insulted our festivals. And now, in Bengal, they must stand and chant ‘Joy Maa Durga’. Mark my words, in 10 months they will have to chant ‘Joy Bangla’,” he said.
Abhishek also criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly labelling Bengali-speaking residents in Assam as Bangladeshis. He questioned the BJP’s silence on the issue and urged TMC MPs to speak in Bengali in the ongoing Parliament session as a mark of protest. “It’s been two weeks since the Assam CM made those remarks. I want to know what disciplinary action has been taken. I urge our MPs — speak in Bangla inside Parliament and let them dare to silence you,” he said.
Hitting out at what he called attempts to homogenise Indian culture, Banerjee declared that Bengalis would not yield to such pressure. "Why is the BJP irritated if someone speaks Bengali? Is it because they couldn’t win here? We were born in Bengal, not in Gujarat or UP. We will not bow, we will not sell our spines, and we will not surrender,” he said emphatically.
He warned that the people of Bengal would not tolerate divisive politics. “Bengal does not discriminate on the basis of language, religion, food habits or customs. If you try to play with fire, you will be the first to burn,”he warned BJP leaders.
Looking ahead to the 2026 polls, Banerjee invoked the party’s successful 2021 campaign slogan, “Khela Hobe”, and introduced a new war cry: “Poddo Phool Upre Fela Hobe,"the lotus will be uprooted.
“Don’t assume we will win just because Mamata Banerjee is leading us. Of course she will guide us. But it is your responsibility to ensure we don’t lose even an inch of ground to those who have insulted our self-respect,” he told the crowd that had gathered.
With West Bengal headed for a high stakes election in less than a year, Abhishek Banerjee’s speech signals that the TMC’s battle for 2026 will be deeply rooted in Bengali identity, cultural pride, and fierce resistance to what it sees as Delhi’s overreach.
