- By Raju Kumar
- Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bengal Elections 2023: With the voting date nearing in West Bengal, the political parties are leaving no stone unturned to attack rivals. Along with other hot topics, like SIR, corruption and communal rhetoric, Pakistan also echoed in the high-stakes elections, in which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress seeks a record fourth term, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hopeful to dislodge the ruling party. Bangladesh remains in the news for the illegal immigrant issue, but this time, Pakistan made an entry into the poll campaign.
How Pakistan Entered Bengal Politics
It started when CM Banerjee on Monday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not raise Pakistan's threat to attack Kolkata, during his poll rallies in West Bengal a day earlier. "You (PM) target Bengal during election rallies, but when Pakistan talks of attacking Bengal, you do not utter a word. You should resign," she said at a poll rally in Bethuadahari, Nadia district.
"Why did the prime minister not raise the issue during his rally in Bengal? When Pakistan's defence minister says they will attack Kolkata, why didn't the prime minister say that 'we will take strong action'?" she posed a day after Modi addressed a poll rally in West Bengal's Cooch Behar. "Just like we do not accept any threat to the country, we will also not take the threat to Kolkata lying down," she said.
Earlier, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday warned India that it would respond with a strike in Kolkata to any future misadventures. "If India tries to stage any false flag operation this time, then God-willingly, we will take it to Kolkata," Asif had said while talking to reporters at his hometown of Sialkot.
Rajnath Singh Responds to Pakistan's Threat
As the matter snowballed, Defence Minister and senior BJP leader, Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hit back at Pakistan, saying Asif should not give "such a provocative statement" because they suffered the consequences when Pakistan was divided into two parts.
Singh further said that only God would know how many parts Pakistan would be divided if "they cast an eye on Bengal."
"Pakistan's Defence Minister should not have given such a provocative statement. 55 years ago, they suffered the consequences when Pakistan was divided into two parts. If they try to cast an eye on Bengal, only God knows how many parts Pakistan will be divided into this time," said Rajnath Singh.
The 294-member West Bengal Assembly will go to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
(With agencies Inputs)