Shah reveals decade-long wait for Bengal border land under Mamata rule

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has disclosed that the Centre waited over a decade to acquire 1,129 acres needed for fencing West Bengal's border with Bangladesh, receiving the land only after the current state administration took office.

Speaking at a Sashastra Seema Bal programme in Siliguri on Friday, Mr. Shah said his repeated appeals to former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the land went unanswered despite requests dating back to 2014. "My desperate pleas to Mamata Banerjee for land to set up border fences by the BSF fell on deaf ears," he told the gathering during groundbreaking and foundation-laying ceremonies for SSB projects at the force's frontier headquarters.

Why border fencing matters

The Home Minister framed border security as non-negotiable, asserting that "neither West Bengal nor India will be safe until its frontiers are secured". The land parcel was finally handed over after the Adhikari government assumed power in the state, Mr. Shah said, congratulating Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for attending the SSB event—a first for any Bengal Chief Minister.

Mr. Shah criticised the absence of previous state leadership from border force celebrations, calling it a troubling precedent. "No previous CMs of the State ever attended programmes of Sashastra Seema Bal or the BSF," he said, adding that such avoidance sent "wrong signals" even though the SSB is not a political organisation.

Vande Mataram recognition

The Minister also touched on cultural symbolism, expressing disappointment that successive governments after Independence had not given adequate recognition to the national song Vande Mataram. He said the complete version was sung at the Red Fort during Independence Day celebrations this year for the first time, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of its composition by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. "It gives me solace that the nation has finally recognised the song," Mr. Shah added.

Source: The Hindu