BJP fulfilling Bengal poll promises, 'Sonar Bangla' taking shape under Suvendu's leadership: Shah

Kolkata, Jul 6 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the BJP government in West Bengal was implementing its poll promises, including steps towards a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), action against infiltration and tougher anti-crime measures, while asserting that the vision of a 'Sonar Bangla' was taking shape under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's leadership. Addressing a programme marking the 125th birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Shah sought to project the BJP government's policy initiatives in the state as an extension of the late leader's ideological legacy, linking issues such as citizenship, national integration, law and order, and cultural nationalism to Mookerjee's vision. The home minister, who laid the foundation stone for a 125-foot-tall statue of Mookerjee, also announced that a committee had been constituted for implementing the UCC in West Bengal. He said the process of identifying and deporting infiltrators had begun, and reiterated the BJP's commitment to granting citizenship to eligible refugees under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). "We are fulfilling the promises we made in our 'Sankalp Patra' during the Bengal elections," Shah said. Praising the BJP government in the state, he said, "I am fully confident that under the leadership of CM Suvendu Adhikari, the commitment of building a 'Sonar Bangla' will be fulfilled." In a speech laden with references to Mookerjee's political legacy, Shah described the occasion as an emotional one and claimed the former Union minister's contributions had been deliberately overlooked for decades. "For 63 years, there has been an attempt to make us forget Syama Prasad Mookerjee and his contributions," he said. Shah said the installation of the 125-foot statue in Mookerjee's home state would be a fitting tribute to a leader whose ideas now "shape governance across much of the country". "Today, on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary, the foundation stone for his 125-foot-tall statue was laid in West Bengal -- a tribute to his enduring legacy," Shah said. Seeking to underscore the BJP's ideological lineage, Shah said the political movement founded by Mookerjee had evolved from a marginal force into the country's dominant political current. "The Jana Sangh founded by Dr Mookerjee is today functioning as the BJP across more than two-thirds of the country's geographical area and population in accordance with his policies," he added. Using the occasion to highlight the BJP government's policy initiatives in Bengal, Shah said, "A committee has been constituted to pave the way for the implementation of the UCC in the state." He also pointed to the passage of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, as evidence that the government was acting on its promise to tackle lawlessness. "We had promised decisive action against criminals, and this legislation marks the first step towards fulfilling that commitment," Shah said. The process of "identifying and deporting infiltrators has also begun", he said, before adding, "We will identify every infiltrator and secure the country". In a pitch aimed at women voters, Shah said the newly constituted Durga Suraksha Squad would strengthen women's safety and security across the state. A substantial portion of Shah's speech was devoted to recounting Mookerjee's resignation from independent India's first Cabinet over the Nehru-Liaquat Pact, an episode that remains central to the BJP's narrative around the Jana Sangh founder. "Today is an emotional day for many people like me. Dr Mookerjee sacrificed his life to integrate Kashmir with India," Shah said. Recalling Mookerjee's opposition to the pact, Shah claimed that the former minister had viewed it as unfair to Hindus who remained in East Pakistan. "I have seen the resignation letter he gave from the first Cabinet. When Dr Mookerjee studied the pact, he found that it spoke about Muslims staying in India but did not address the concerns of Hindus living in Pakistan and Bangladesh. He called it lopsided and decided to resign from the Cabinet," Shah said. He repeated the charge later in his speech, saying Mookerjee believed the agreement addressed the concerns of Muslims in India but ignored Hindus in Pakistan. Drawing a connection between that episode and contemporary BJP policies, Shah said the party had acted on Mookerjee's concerns through the CAA. "Today, the government of the same party has brought the CAA to grant citizenship to persecuted Hindus," he said. In a significant political message, particularly in a state with a sizeable refugee population, Shah said the process of granting citizenship would be expedited. "Today, I want to say from this platform that we will soon fulfil the remaining formalities for granting citizenship as well, because the BJP government is in West Bengal," he said. The home minister also invoked the abrogation of Article 370, describing it as the fulfilment of another long-standing aspiration associated with Mookerjee. "Modi ji fulfilled Dr Mookerjee’s resolve and abolished Article 370. Today, Kashmir is an integral part of Bharat," Shah said. The Congress also came under attack, with Shah alleging that successive governments never permitted a proper investigation into Mookerjee's death in Kashmir in 1953. "The Congress never allowed any investigation into Dr Mookerjee's death under mysterious circumstances," he claimed. Shah said Mookerjee had believed that India's development model should be rooted in its own civilisational values rather than borrowed from the West. "When he founded the Jana Sangh, he had taken a pledge that merely changing the government would not glorify India. The policies of free India should be crafted from the fragrance of India's own soil, without the shadow of the West upon them," Shah said. According to him, Modi's governance model reflected that vision. "Taking this principle to heart, PM Modi has initiated the journey towards strengthening India's foundation, achieving a fully developed India by 2047 and ensuring that the flag of our culture waves highest in the entire world," Shah said. PTI PNT BDC