Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, 17 May launched a sharp attack on decades of governance in West Bengal, alleging that ordinary citizens had been forced to pay unofficial commissions to the ruling party even for routine purchases such as fans, bricks, and cement. Shah made the remarks at a public event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, after inaugurating and laying foundation stones for civic development works worth ₹620 crore.

The Bengal Governance Critique

Shah alleged that for nearly 50 years, West Bengal had seen little meaningful developmental activity, with political commissions becoming embedded in everyday economic transactions. 'For buying a tubelight, fan, bricks or cement, commission of the ruling party had to be paid,' he said during his address.

He further claimed that the informal toll system extended even to inter-state commerce. 'If someone brought a cheaper fan by train from another state, people would be standing at railway stations to collect tax,' Shah alleged. He did not name any specific party or government in his remarks, though the comments were widely understood as directed at the current administration in West Bengal.

The Gujarat Comparison

To underscore his argument, Shah drew a pointed historical parallel. 'If someone made a film on Gujarat in 1964 and then made a film on today's Bengal, that time Gujarat would score higher,' he said, suggesting that Bengal's trajectory had diverged sharply from states that prioritised governance and infrastructure. He linked Bengal's public dissatisfaction to what he described as growing support for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, arguing that citizens had backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in search of better governance.

BJP's Organisational Strength

Shah attributed the BJP's national rise to its grassroots infrastructure. 'Booth-level workers remained central to the BJP's political success. They maintained a direct contact with people across villages and cities. Party workers consistently worked to address local problems and maintain public trust,' he said. He also highlighted the party's sweep in Gujarat's recent local body elections, noting that the BJP had won all municipal corporations where polls were held and secured victories in a large majority of municipalities, district panchayats, and taluka panchayats.

Gandhinagar Development Projects

Alongside his political remarks, Shah outlined a range of civic projects being undertaken in Gandhinagar under the ₹620 crore package. These include sewage treatment plants, water supply systems, internal roads, lake beautification works, community halls, urban health centres, yoga studios, and sports infrastructure. Shah connected the BJP's electoral performance to its governance record, citing the party's outreach during the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of sustained ground-level work.

The speech comes at a time when the BJP is actively targeting West Bengal ahead of future electoral cycles, making Shah's Gandhinagar address as much a political signal as a local governance event.