Guwahati: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari seriously talks about replicating the Assam module to tackle illegal infiltration in the state. Speaking on the sidelines of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s swearing-in ceremony in Guwahati, CM Adhikari said what many in the BJP have been saying privately for a while — that the approach taken by Assam and Tripura to tackle illegal infiltration from Bangladesh needs to be replicated in West Bengal, and without delay.
“For the interest of national security, the works which have been done in Assam and Tripura must be done in West Bengal. Our government will do that,” he said firmly.
Land to BSF
CM Adhikari was pointed in his criticism of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led government in Bengal. He said the earlier government’s minority appeasement politics had compromised national security to the point where land was not even allotted to the Border Security Force.
“National security was at risk,” he said bluntly. “The steps taken by Assam to protect the Bangladesh border and tackle illegal infiltrators must be done immediately in West Bengal too. In our very first cabinet meeting, we have initiated that first step.”
Home Minister Amit Shah, he noted, has repeatedly flagged illegal infiltration as a critical issue in West Bengal — and the new government intends to act on it.
Odisha, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Tripura: A new bloc
Beyond the infiltration issue, Adhikari outlined a broader regional vision. He said Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura would work together in the coming days towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a developed East India.
“We will work together. The East has a role to play in Viksit Bharat,” he said.
CM Adhikari also spoke warmly — and at length — about his personal equation with CM Sarma.
“Himanta Biswa is like a brother. We share a very good relationship. He helped me a lot during the elections in Bengal and I have a lot to learn from his experience,” he said.
What impressed him most, he added, was not just CM Sarma’s administrative efficiency — but his accessibility. “How a Chief Minister picks up a phone call at 1:30 in the night and remains so grounded despite such achievements — that is something I need to learn from Himanta Da,” CM Adhikari said.
The statement made by the first BJP CM of Bengal has many significance. The damage done in the last 15 years needs urgent attention. But how and what steps the new CM of West Bengal is going to take only time will reveal.
