Kolkata, Nov 15 — West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress and his predecessor Mamata Banerjee on Sunday, accusing the former administration of pampering only one specific minority community while ignoring others.
Speaking at a Sikh community event ahead of Guru Nanak Jayanti, Adhikari said the previous government viewed minorities through a single lens.
"For the Trinamool Congress and the former Chief Minister, only one particular community represented the entire minority community. But Sikhs, Jains and Parsis are also part of the minority community," Adhikari told reporters.
Praising the Sikh community for their nationalist sentiments, Adhikari asserted that his administration treats all religious minorities equally. He added that the previous regime focused exclusively on Muslims under the banner of minority welfare.
The Trinamool Congress strongly rejected the allegations. A party spokesperson defended Mamata Banerjee's tenure, stating that development proposals for the Sikh community are well-documented in state records.
"Mamata Banerjee always believed in the unity of all religions and followed that path. She never indulged in divisive politics, as is being done by her successor," the Trinamool leader said.
Political analysts note that Adhikari's remarks reflect the Bharatiya Janata Party's broader narrative accusing the opposition of appeasement politics.
In the recent assembly elections, Adhikari defeated Mamata Banerjee by a margin of over 15,000 votes in the Bhabanipur constituency, an area with a substantial population of Sikh and Jain voters who strongly supported his campaign.