Irked By PM’s Speech In West Bengal, Mamata Dares Modi To A Live TV Debate

In a sharp counterattack to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent address in West Bengal’s Alipurduar, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has challenged the PM to a live TV debate—teleprompter and all—and dared the BJP to call early elections in the state. Modi’s address, widely seen as the start of the BJP’s campaign for the 2026 Assembly elections, took aim at Mamata, branding her “Nirmam” (merciless) while highlighting recent communal violence in Murshidabad and Malda, the Supreme Court’s scrapping of teaching posts which left over 25,000 teachers jobless, and accusing her government of blocking Central government’s schemes. Hitting back, Didi accused the PM of engaging in “political Holi” at the expense of national interests. She dismissed his “Operation Bengal” remarks as an insult to the people of the state and pointed out that her nephew, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, was part of an MP delegation meeting global leaders—signalling her party’s commitment to protecting the nation’s interests internationally. Didi also slammed the Centre’s political motives behind naming the post-Pahalgam operation. She mocked Modi for his transformation from a self-proclaimed tea-seller to what she described as a “sindoor salesman,” a dig at his remarks that she interpreted as disrespectful to the women of Bengal. Mamata claimed that she had instructed her leaders to avoid commentary on “Operation Sindoor” despite its provocative nature. She accused the PM of spending more time on foreign trips than on India’s pressing issues and criticized what she called the erosion of federalism under Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s watch, branding him the country’s “acting Prime Minister.”