Abhishek Banerjee: BJP govt filing FIRs instead of delivering welfare
Synopsis
Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has gone on the offensive against the BJP-led West Bengal government, accusing it of prioritising FIRs over welfare delivery. With active CID probes into his health camps and a COVID-testing complaint in play, the clash signals a sharp escalation in post-election political hostilities in the state.
Key Takeaways
Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP -led West Bengal government on 28 July of filing FIRs against him instead of delivering Ayushman Bharat and Lakshmir Bhandar benefits.
The Diamond Harbour MP claimed the cases target his public service work, including free medical camps and COVID-19 testing drives.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had ordered simultaneous CID and state health department probes into the Sebashray health camps .
A separate police complaint has been filed against a Mega COVID-19 Testing Drive organised by Banerjee during the previous Trinamool regime.
Banerjee also accused a section of the media of amplifying what he called ‘political vendetta’ against him.
Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday, 28 July accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in West Bengal of devoting more energy to registering cases against him than to delivering welfare schemes to residents of the state.
What Abhishek Said
In a social media statement issued on Tuesday evening, Banerjee alleged that the BJP government, since coming to power in West Bengal, had spent more time registering FIRs against him than ensuring Ayushman Bharat and Lakshmir Bhandar benefits reached those who need them. “I never imagined that a so-called double-engine government would be so averse to development and good work,” he said.
The Diamond Harbour Member of Parliament — and nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee — claimed the FIRs were filed by politically motivated individuals targeting his public service work, which he said included free medical check-ups, COVID-19 tests, road construction, and infrastructure development in Diamond Harbour.
The Investigations Behind the Allegations
Banerjee did not name specific cases explicitly, but his remarks were widely seen as a reference to two ongoing probes: the investigation into the Sebashray health camps and a police complaint against a Mega COVID-19 Testing Drive camp he organised during the previous Trinamool Congress regime.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier stated that simultaneous probes by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal Police and the state health department would be conducted into allegations against the Sebashray health camps.
Attack on Media Coverage
Banerjee also directed sharp criticism at a section of the press, accusing them of functioning as a mouthpiece for the state government. “It’s equally interesting to see a section of the media amplify this political vendetta, happily sacrificing basic journalistic ethics to play puppetry for those in power,” his statement read.
This comes amid a broader pattern of political friction in West Bengal since the BJP’s ascent to power in the state, with both ruling and opposition camps trading accusations of institutional misuse.
Banerjee’s Defiant Closing
Concluding his statement, Banerjee said neither the FIRs nor the media coverage would deter him from his duties as an elected representative. “These tactics don’t intimidate me or slow me down. Do what you can. I will keep doing what I was elected to do,” he said.
With the Sebashray probe and the COVID-testing complaint both reportedly active, the political battle between Banerjee and the BJP-led West Bengal government is likely to intensify in the weeks ahead.
Point of View
But it also signals that the BJP’s West Bengal government is using institutional machinery — CID probes, police complaints — as a pressure tool against the principal opposition figure. That pattern is not new in Indian state politics, but it cuts both ways: if the probes surface genuine irregularities in the health camps, the narrative shifts entirely. The Sebashray and COVID-testing investigations deserve scrutiny on their own merits, independent of the political noise surrounding them. Mainstream coverage has largely framed this as a he-said-they-said, missing the more important question of whether public funds or public health were misused — and by whom.
NationPress
28 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Abhishek Banerjee accusing the BJP government of filing FIRs against him?
Abhishek Banerjee alleges the BJP-led West Bengal government is filing politically motivated FIRs to target his public service work rather than focusing on welfare delivery. He made the accusation in a social media statement on 28 July, citing cases linked to his health camps and COVID-19 testing drives in Diamond Harbour.
What are the Sebashray health camps and why are they under probe?
The Sebashray health camps were free medical check-up camps organised under Abhishek Banerjee’s initiative during the previous Trinamool Congress regime. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has ordered simultaneous probes by the CID and the state health department into allegations surrounding these camps.
What is the Mega COVID-19 Testing Drive complaint about?
A police complaint has been filed against a large-scale COVID-19 testing camp organised by Abhishek Banerjee during the Trinamool Congress government’s tenure. Banerjee has characterised the complaint as politically motivated, though the specific allegations have not been publicly detailed by authorities.
Who is Abhishek Banerjee?
Abhishek Banerjee is the General Secretary of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Member of Parliament from Diamond Harbour in West Bengal. He is also the nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
What did Abhishek Banerjee say about the media?
Banerjee accused a section of the media of acting as a mouthpiece for the BJP-led state government, saying they were ‘happily sacrificing basic journalistic ethics to play puppetry for those in power.’
