Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused West Bengal’s erstwhile Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments of ruining ‘Sonar Bangla’ and asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BP) would restore the state’s lost glory. He made the remarks while virtually laying the foundation stone of Amul’s first dairy plant in the state at an event in Rajarhat on Kolkata’s eastern outskirts.
Event Context
“The change ushered by Bengal’s people sets the recent assembly polls apart from all elections held in India since Independence. As far as education, religious movements, culture or the struggle for freedom are concerned, Bengal was ahead of other states,” Shah said.
“Bengal freed herself from the foreign ideology-driven communists and fell into the clutches of the corrupt and criminal TMC. The Sonar Bangla envisioned by Rabindranath Tagore was lost during those years. But after 10 years of struggle from 2016 to 2026 under the leadership of Suvendu Adhikari, we are on the path to fulfilling the dream of Sonar Bangla,” he said.
The Amul Bengal Dairy Project, to be built at Sankrail Food Park in Howrah district at an estimated cost of around ₹700 crore, will process three million litres of milk daily and produce one million kg of curd besides other dairy products such as ice cream and butter.
“I came to Bengal for two days to ensure border security, oversee action against infiltrators and ensure the safety of women. I held several meetings about which the chief minister will later brief the assembly,” Shah said before leaving the state.
Player Focus
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah for supporting the state government’s development initiatives and urged the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation to establish two more Amul plants in north and south Bengal. Senior federation officials present at the event agreed to the proposal.
“The Left Front and TMC made Bengal economically insolvent in 50 years. The state will now enjoy the benefits of double engine government. Those who said they wouldn’t allow Bengal to become Gujarat are watching today from home how Amul from Gujarat is investing ₹700 crore in Bengal,” Adhikari said.
Earlier in the day, Shah visited the National Library in Kolkata to inaugurate the Museum of Words, where interactive galleries focus on the origins of words and languages.
“Our nation’s culture cannot be revived unless we go to the origin of our languages. I believe that a family’s language and especially the mother’s language should be a language a child should study in. Every Indian should learn at least one more Indian language apart from their mother tongue,” Shah said while addressing invited school students.
Match Outlook
“More than 1,25,000 milk-producing farmers in West Bengal, including over 30,000 women, will benefit from this project. This plant will be India’s biggest curd producer. Some people said they won’t let Bengal turn into Gujarat. This plant is not for Gujarat but for Bengal. Sweet curd from this plant will be consumed by families living across India, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” Shah said.
“Amul is the world’s biggest co-operative society. Thirty-six lakh people contributed ₹100 each and raised the funds. Now the turnover is millions. The Centre will also set up a cattle breeding centre here. In 15 years every farmer in Bengal will have at least two cows and the milk will be purchased by this cooperative society,” he added.
Shah also inaugurated several other projects at the event, including a cooperative society for taxi drivers.
The Union minister, who arrived in West Bengal on Friday night on a two-day visit, also held a meeting with senior police and security agency officers in Kolkata on Sunday morning. Officials aware of the agenda said the discussions focused on terror groups, infiltration from Bangladesh and foreigners staying in the state with expired visas.
