New Delhi: A political storm erupted in poll-bound West Bengal on Sunday after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of making derogatory and violent remarks against chief minister Mamata Banerjee, terming her a “witch” and calling for her “beheading” during a rally in South 24 Parganas district.
The ruling party shared a purported video on social media platform X, in which Sanjay Das, vice-president of the BJP’s Mathurapur unit, is seen describing Banerjee as a “witch” and urging that she be “beheaded with a kharga (sword)” while addressing the party’s ‘Poribortan Sabha’. Former state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was also present at the event, with party leaders seen handing him a sword in the video.
“This old witch is ruling West Bengal. She must be beheaded with a kharga,” Das is heard saying in the clip shared by the TMC.
When the Prime Minister of the country himself normalises misogyny by catcalling an elected Chief Minister with “Didi, O Didi,” it’s no surprise that other @BJP4India leaders feel licensed to descend into outright criminality.
At BJP’s “Poriborton Sabha,” their Vice President of… pic.twitter.com/fj1UYd5Clt
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) January 24, 2026
TMC accuses PM of normalising misogyny
Condemning the remarks, the TMC termed them a “public call for murder against a democratically elected woman chief minister” and launched a sharp attack on the BJP, alleging that such rhetoric was being normalised from the top.
“When the Prime Minister of the country himself normalises misogyny by catcalling an elected chief minister with ‘Didi, O Didi’, it’s no surprise that other BJP leaders feel licensed to descend into outright criminality,” the party said in a post on X.
“At BJP’s ‘Poriborton Sabha’, their vice-president of Mathurapur OD, Sanjay Das, handed a kharga to Dilip Ghosh, branded our Hon’ble Chairperson a ‘witch’, and openly called for her beheading. A public call for murder against a democratically elected woman Chief Minister,” it added.
‘Is this the Poriborton Bengal wants’
The TMC further asked, “Is this the ‘Poriborton’ Bengal wants — women being threatened, violence being glorified, and lynch-mob language being normalised from the stage?”
Responding to the controversy, BJP leader Satarupa alleged that TMC leaders had earlier made similar violent remarks against BJP workers. “This is a direct reaction to what Trinamool leaders have been saying about BJP leaders,” she said, while distancing the party from Das’s statement.
She added that she does not support the remarks and said the party leadership would “make it very clear” to Das.