Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of taking the “tukde tukde” gang, or alleged secessionist supporters, from the streets to Parliament, as he campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in poll-bound West Bengal’s Siliguri.
He called the Siliguri corridor, which connects the northeast with the rest of the country, crucial to India’s security and added that the TMC wants to appease its vote bank. “There is a tukde tukde gang in this country. They threatened to separate the northeast from the rest of India. The TMC took these people from the streets to the Parliament,” he said, without elaborating.
The BJP coined the “tukde tukde gang” phrase after a face off between a group of Left-leaning students and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s students’ wing, at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2016. The ABVP alleged the Left-leaning students shouted slogans to break the country into pieces, which led to arrests on sedition charges.
Modi said Siliguri, a key town in North Bengal, must be protected at all costs. He called TMC “an anti-North Bengal party” and said the state budget in February exemplified this. He cited the allocation for madrasas this year and added that the allocation for North Bengal has been inadequate during the TMC’s 15 years in power.
Modi said the TMC is engaged only in appeasement. “It was having a celebration in Kolkata when North Bengal was hit by floods [in October 2025]. The TMC is anti-tea garden, anti-north Bengal, anti-tribal, anti-women, and anti-youth,” Modi said.
He said West Bengal’s demography has changed during the TMC rule. “Dialects and customs are changing. It will be too late if this is not stopped now. Let the lotus [BJP’s election symbol] bloom, drive out infiltrators. This election will decide Bengal’s future,” Modi said.
Modi questioned whether the TMC can provide a full account of its development projects. “Yet, it asks the Centre to account for every penny it sends. Let the TMC hear this clearly. The BJP will form the government after May 4 and seek TMC’s accountability for 15 years,” Modi said. He accused TMC’s ruffians of looting funds sent for social welfare projects.
Modi cited the alleged assault on a pregnant woman from the tribal Munda community in her village in Phansidewa in December 2025 and said Bengal’s women must be protected. “We have pledged to ensure legal protection for them. There will be more women police stations. There will be more women in the police force. The TMC has looted money from projects meant for women,” Modi said.
“Our government will deposit ₹3,000 into every woman’s bank account without asking for commission. Nobody can take this money away. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said, referring to the promise the BJP made in its election manifesto for the April 23-29 Bengal polls.
In February, chief minister Mamata Banerjee increased the monthly financial assistance for women under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme by ₹500, raising it to ₹1,500 for the general category and ₹1,700 for the Scheduled Caste and tribal communities.
Modi pointed at the BJP candidates on the dais and said, “All of them are Modi. Vote for them, and you will vote for me.”
He said the TMC always throws a spanner in development projects. “The East-West corridor is one such example. It is supposed to connect Porbandar to the northeast,” Modi said.
Modi said North Bengal produces tea and accused the TMC of destroying it. “In Assam, the BJP government has ensured education for children of tea garden workers. We will do the same here. We will give the workers land rights, power, and hospitals,” Modi said.
Mamata Banerjee countered Modi at a rally at Asansol. “The chairs of the Prime Minister and home minister have some value. How can they tell so many lies? I gave land rights to tea garden workers. I started the Cha Sundari Prakalpa [welfare project for tea garden workers]. How can a Prime Minister tell so many lies? If you want to fight, face me, Modi Bhai,” Banerjee said.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who held three rallies on Sunday in Bankura and East Midnapore districts, said people no longer offer namaz on the roads in his state. “There is no noise from mosques,” he said. “In the past, we only saw anarchy in Uttar Pradesh. The mafia used to have a free run. There used to be riots, curfew, and corruption.”