Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has sparked a major political storm with her controversial comments targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, remarks that have provoked sharp condemnation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and led to a formal police complaint being filed against her.
Moitra, known for her outspoken and combative style, while addressing reporters in Bengal’s Nadia district, declared that Amit Shah should be “beheaded” for failing to prevent the infiltration of illegal Bangladeshi migrants into India. The remark came in the backdrop of intensifying political debates around border security, a key issue ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
In her interaction with the media, which was captured on video and quickly went viral on social platforms, Moitra lashed out at Shah, holding him directly accountable for alleged lapses in border management. “He (Amit Shah) keeps repeating the word' infiltrators. But the border is guarded by forces under the Home Ministry. He cannot escape responsibility by shifting the blame onto the TMC government,” she asserted.
Moitra went further, accusing both Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of weaponising the infiltration issue for political gains. She pointed out that Modi, during his Independence Day address from the Red Fort, had raised an alarm over demographic changes allegedly caused by infiltration. Yet, she said, “While the Prime Minister was making these accusations, his Home Minister, seated in the front row, was smiling and clapping.”
Ratcheting up her rhetoric, Moitra declared, “If there is no one to guard India’s borders, if people from another country are entering in their hundreds of thousands every day, threatening our women and occupying our land, then Amit Shah’s head should be cut off and placed on the table.”
Her remarks come at a time when the BJP has intensified its nationwide campaign against illegal Bangladeshi migrants, sparking tensions in Bengal. The Trinamool Congress has, however, countered the BJP narrative, accusing the ruling party at the Centre of targeting Bengali-speaking migrants indiscriminately under the garb of identifying infiltrators.
Moitra also linked the issue to India’s foreign policy, claiming that the BJP government was responsible for a deterioration in New Delhi’s historically friendly ties with Dhaka. Bangladesh has always been one of our closest allies. But because of your policies, in the last several years, the situation has completely changed,” she said.
The BJP, however, responded with outrage, accusing Moitra of promoting an extremist and violent mindset. Party leaders branded her comments as reflective of a “Taliban” and “jihadi” mentality. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla strongly criticised her remarks, tweeting, “Mahua Moitra’s ISIS-style ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ comment on Amit Shah reflects her Taliban mindset. This is not muhabbat ki dukaan, it is naf rat ke bhaijaan.”
He further accused the Trinamool leadership of frequently invoking violence and civil conflict when confronted with the issue of infiltration, saying, “This is the language of jihadi terrorists, not of elected parliamentarians.”
A police complaint has also been filed against Moitra at the Kotwali police station in Krishnanagar by a BJP leader, demanding action over what the party describes as an incitement to violence against a Union minister.
Meanwhile, AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, while distancing himself from Moitra’s language, pointed out that criticism of Shah and the BJP’s policies was justified. “Such violent words should have been avoided. Violence against Amit Shah is not acceptable. But yes, we must continue to challenge Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the BJP politically, and work to retire them from power,” he said.
The controversy has now escalated into yet another flashpoint between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, adding fuel to the already heated political climate in West Bengal.
