Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses during the Parivartan Yatra in Mathurapur, in South 24 Parganas on March 2, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday (March 2, 2026) promised West Bengal government employees that the Seventh Pay Commission would be implemented in the State if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was voted to power in the coming Assembly election.
Mr. Shah, who flagged off his party’s Parivartan Yatra (Rally for change) from Magrahat in South 24 Parganas, said the Seventh Pay Commission would be implemented within 45 days of the BJP coming to power. “If all of you form a government of the West Bengal under the BJP, we will start paying salaries as per the Seventh Pay Commission within just 45 days,” he said.
The remark assumes significance as the government employees are embroiled in a long legal battle with the State government over the payment of Dearness Allowance (DA). Despite a Supreme Court order directing the State government to pay 25% of the outstanding DA to its employees by March 31, the Mamata Banerjee government has not released the DA arrears.
Speaking at the public meeting at Mathurapur, the Union Home Minister said that the youth of the State had suffered due to the corruption of the Trinamool Congress government in providing jobs. He promised that after the BJP government is formed, the youth would be given a five-year relaxation in the upper age limit for jobs.
Mr. Shah said the objective of the yatra was not merely to remove the Chief Minister, but to free the State from infiltration, corruption, and syndicate raj. “If you vote for the TMC again, Bhaipo (nephew) will rule here, not Mamata didi,” the Home Minister said.
Dynasty politics
Targeting the Trinamool Congress government over dynasty politics, Mr. Shah said the aim of “Mamata Banerjee is not the welfare of the people of Bengal. Instead of the welfare of the people of Bengal, she wants to do good to Abhishek Banerjee”.
“She wants to make Abhishek Banerjee the Chief Minister,” he said. Mr. Shah said the youth of West Bengal could not get space in a party like the Trinamool Congress and the “BJP is the only party that does not do politics for the family”.
Referring to the scams that have surfaced during the 15 years of the Trinamool Congress government, the Union Home Minister touched upon the nomination of Rajeev Kumar, the former Director-General of West Bengal Police, to the Rajya Sabha. Mr. Shah said the DGP who had helped the Trinamool Congress cover up several scams had now been nominated by the party to the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Shah said that while Ms. Banerjee had had a change of heart and was constructing temples in the State, a “Babri Masjid” was also being constructed in the State under her watch to appease a vote bank. He said the Babri Masjid was a result of a conspiracy between Ms. Banerjee and Humayun Kabir, the suspended Trinamool legislator who has now floated a new party.
Rajnath, Shivraj flag off rallies
Several other legs of the Parivartan Yatra were flagged off from different corners of the State. Addressing a rally at Amta in Howrah district, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recalled the contribution of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and said Bengal was the land of fighters and revolutionaries and was ready for change.
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, flagged off a yatra from Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas.
The BJP leadership has started its campaign for the West Bengal Assembly election by flagging off several Parivartan Yatras across the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata after the culmination of these yatras.
Published – March 02, 2026 09:26 pm IST
