Mamata wants other parties to occupy Opposition benches in West Bengal, not the BJP

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who faced strong protests from legislators of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State Assembly, on Thursday (September 4, 2025) said that she wanted MLAs from parties other than the BJP to occupy the Opposition benches.

“Next time, we want our people, or people from other parties to occupy these benches, but not BJP,” she said, pointing to the Opposition benches occupied by BJP MLAs raising slogans against her.

The Chief Minister’s address on a resolution against the targeting of Bengali-speaking migrants was disrupted by the BJP MLAs. Five BJP MLAs were suspended and forced out of the House by Speaker Biman Banerjee for disrupting the proceedings of the House.

The remark by the Chief Minister assumes significance because the BJP is the principal Opposition party in the Assembly, and the Left parties and the Congress have no representation in the House. Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Nawshad Siddique is the only legislator in the House who is not with either the TMC or the BJP.

In the first two terms of her tenure as Chief Minister, MLAs of the Left parties led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and Congress MLAs, were the Opposition faces. The West Bengal unit of the BJP has often alleged that the TMC, the Left parties, and the Congress were on the same page. Of late, BJP leaders in West Bengal, including Suvendu Adhikari, have been telling people that it was better to vote for the TMC than support the CPI(M) and Congress. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya has urged CPI(M) supporters to keep aside their flags, and join the BJP in defeating the Trinamool Congress in 2026.

Mamata criticises foreign policy

During her address in the House, the Chief Minister targeted the BJP on several counts, from foreign policy to the removal of GST (Goods and Services Tax) on health insurance. “We had demanded that [health] insurance claims be exempted from GST. We were the first to raise this demand. I am proud of my party, for today, the entire nation is following in our footsteps,” Ms. Banerjee said.

The West Bengal Chief Minister criticised the BJP-led Union government on its foreign policy. “Today, you (the Central government) are grovelling at the feet of Russia, China, America, and Israel. In doing so, you have sacrificed the pride and dignity of our country. You are a threat to the very foundational principle of unity in diversity,” Ms. Banerjee said.

The BJP and its allies had no role in the freedom movement, and their leaders served “as the agents of the British”, she said. Accusing the BJP of being “Bangla birodhis” (anti-Bengal), she said that the Union Home Ministry’s new order on immigration and foreign nationals was an attempt to confuse the people before the 2026 Assembly election. BJP leaders in West Bengal had welcomed the September 1 notification allowing religious minorities from three neighbouring countries, who had entered before December 31, 2024, to stay in the country, by linking the order with the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Ms. Banerjee expressed the hope that in the next elections, the people of the State would vote out the BJP and the party would be reduced to a “big zero” in the Assembly.