TMC Leader Shatrughan Sinha Backs Mamata Banerjee's ‘If Bengal Burns’ Remark: 'She Meant...'

Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha has come to the defense of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after her recent remarks at a public rally in Kolkata ignited a major controversy.

During the rally, Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using his position to "cause fire in Bengal," and issued a stark warning: "If you burn Bengal, Assam, North-East, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi too shall burn! We will topple your chair."

Photo Credit: PTI

Sinha, speaking to news agency PTI, supported Banerjee's statements, arguing that her words were measured and deliberate.

"As far as I know my 'Didi' (Mamata Banerjee), what she said was a very mature thing. She meant to say that if they are trying to instigate people over the Kolkata incident which is being heard in Supreme Court and being probed by CBI, the impact of this will not be limited to just West Bengal," he explained.

The remarks from Banerjee have drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been vocal in its opposition to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government's handling of a sensitive rape and murder case in Kolkata.

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accused Banerjee's comments of having the potential to incite unrest beyond the borders of West Bengal, stating, "Don't you (Mamata Banerjee) believe that your comment can stir unrest in neighboring states? You seem to speak in the voice of certain disruptive forces active in the neighboring country."

In addition to these controversies, Banerjee also faced allegations of threatening junior doctors at state-run hospitals.

Responding to these accusations, she clarified her stance on the matter through a post on X: "Let me most emphatically clarify that I have not uttered a single word against the (medical etc.) students or their movements. I totally support their movement. Their movement is genuine. I never threatened them, as some people are accusing me of doing. This allegation is completely false."

This statement was an effort to dispel the narrative that she had taken a hostile position against the medical community, further complicating the ongoing political tensions.