Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday, 7 July posted a pointed satirical critique on social media, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s so-called double-engine government in West Bengal has, in its first two months in power, achieved little beyond poaching elected representatives from the opposition.

The '15 Achievements' Charge Sheet

In his post, Banerjee — also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — sarcastically listed 15 'achievements' of the new BJP-led state government. Chief among them, he alleged, was the engineering of defections of elected MPs and MLAs from the Trinamool Congress and the installation of a proxy Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly who, he claimed, operates at the direction of the state BJP.

Banerjee further alleged that the ruling dispensation had frozen TMC's bank accounts to financially choke the party, implicated thousands of TMC workers in legal cases, and deployed every available means to weaken and divide the opposition.

Governance Failures Alleged

Beyond political targeting, Banerjee raised a series of governance allegations. He claimed that roads were blocked for seven days under the banner of Yoga Diwas, and that more than 14 rape incidents — including cases involving minors — had been reported across the state in the past two months. He also alleged the demolition of minority religious institutions in broad daylight and the placement of an opposition leader under house arrest.

In one of his more pointed allegations, Banerjee claimed that more than one crore genuine beneficiaries had been removed from the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme — a welfare programme for women. He also said eggs had been removed from children's mid-day meals for the first time in West Bengal's history, replaced with vegetarian alternatives, depriving children of a key source of protein.

Agencies and Security Cover Under Scrutiny

Banerjee alleged that central and state investigative agencies — including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Special Task Force (STF), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) — had continued serving notices and conducting raids against those who refused to align with the new administration. He also accused Solicitor General Tushar Mehta of appearing for the West Bengal Police under the instructions of a ruling party leader from New Delhi, seeking repeated adjournments and allegedly attempting to influence the judiciary against granting interim relief to those challenging the government.

He further alleged that security cover was extended to those who cooperated with the ruling party while being withdrawn from those who did not.

Women's Safety and the 'Nari Suraksha' Question

In a second post the same day, Banerjee drew attention to the recovery of a tribal woman's body from a field in Purba Bardhaman, with her husband allegedly claiming rape and murder. He said this was the ground reality behind BJP's promise of 'Nari Suraksha' (women's safety), and questioned whether any commission would take stock of the situation — or whether this was the 'guarantee' Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken of before the elections.

Banerjee also posed a direct challenge to the BJP: if the party genuinely believes it won West Bengal through a people's mandate, why does it appear fearful of political opposition and the Trinamool Congress?

With the BJP's West Bengal government still in its early weeks, the political battle between the ruling party and TMC is set to intensify, with both sides staking claim to the narrative on governance and accountability.