PM Modi announces the arrival of ‘Great Hera’ in Bangladesh

KOLKATA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday intensified the BJP’s campaign in Bengal, dismissing the Trinamul Congress’s “khela hobe” slogan and casting the assembly polls as a battle to protect Bengali identity while pledging to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to end what he called “the politics of appeasement”. “Bahut khel khel liya hai tumne,” Modi said, adding that those who “played for too long” will now face responsibility. “Sabka hisab liya jayega (Everyone will be held accountable).” In Katwa, he was impressed by the size of the crowd, which he said was a sign of the arrival of the “Big Kayla” in Bengal. Addressing consecutive rallies in Burdwan, Murshidabad and South Dinajpur, Modi accused the TMC of relying on “infiltrators” to build a vote bank and intimidate the majority community. “Let the UCC be implemented here; appeasement will stop once and for all. Bengal will make real changes this time,” he said, echoing Union Minister Amit Shah’s manifesto promise to enact the law within six months of assuming office. Modi described Bengal’s governance as “syndicate rule”. “Here, the group is the government and the government is the group,” he said, linking corruption to corporate exodus, unemployment and youth migration. In Janjipur, a town in Muslim-majority Murshidabad, Modi focused on identity and demographic changes. “TMC wants to use infiltrator votes to form an infiltrator government. We will not let Bengalis become a minority in Bengal,” he said, also referring to the repeated attacks on Ram Navami processions and alleging impunity for the perpetrators. Responding to criticism from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the BJP would not deliver on its promises, Modi defended his party’s record. “BJP keeps its word,” he said, citing support from jute prices and assuring that welfare schemes would continue. “BJP will not stop anything except the plunder of Trinamool.” He promised that the first cabinet meeting of the BJP government would approve the launch of ‘Ayushman Bharat’ scheme in Bengal. In an attempt to appease the Matua and Namashudra communities affected by the SIR, Modi said they were protected by the constitution and promised to expedite the citizenship process after taking office. He also praised the Election Commission for conducting violence-free polls in Assam and Kerala, citing Thursday’s high turnout. Modi warned voters to beware of “artificial intelligence-generated disinformation” and claimed the Trinamool could deploy fabricated videos as polls near. “This is a conspiracy and you need to be careful. The Trinamool is panicking and as the elections are approaching, they will exploit the conspiracy. We have seen this in Assam and Puducherry – rumors based on AI-generated videos will spread. Don’t fall into this trap,” he said.