Hooghly, Jun 20 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari during West Bengal Foundation Day event at Tarkeshwar, in Hooghly on Saturday. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo) | Photo Credit: ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the process of reform and progress for West Bengal has already begun after the new BJP government came to power, noting that the State has a key role to play in the country’s overall development.

“The era of cut money has come to an end, and the progress for West Bengal has begun,” Modi said, while addressing a large gathering at Hooghly’s Tarakeswar on the occasion of celebrating “Paschimbanga Divas” or West Bengal Day.

The Prime Minister, who addressed the public gathering after the BJP formed its first ever government in the State following its massive victory in the State Assembly elections by defeating Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, said the new government has already started taking strong actions against corrupt syndicates and individuals who exploited and looted the people.

Sharpening his attack on the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government, Modi said, “Those who looted public money in Bengal are now being forced to return it. They are being sent to jail.”

He alleged that previous governments in West Bengal pushed the State backwards and turned it into a land of exodus. “Large industries moved out of Bengal. Small industries and businesses shut down. Employment opportunities for the youth kept shrinking. All previous governments encouraged illegal infiltration and the State’s resources were increasingly taken over by infiltrators,” he added.

Modi claimed West Bengal has “broken free from its shackles” and embarked on a new journey of development after the new BJP government came to power. “There is now a new freshness in the air. A new fragrance is wafting from every particle in the State. As if the restoration of Bengal’s pride has begun. Today’s event, where several development projects have been launched, is a testament that Bengal has commenced work on building its new future,” he said, adding, the State government has started working at a super-fast pace for Bengal’s development.

During the programme, the Prime Minister launched multiple development projects spanning the sectors of railways, agriculture, rural development, fisheries and animal husbandry, among others. He released the 23rd instalment of the PM-Kisan scheme worth over Rs18,880 crore, benefiting over 9.44 crore farmers across the country.

Paying tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Modi said he had played a decisive role in ensuring that a part of Bengal remained within India during Partition.

Notably, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological predecessor of the BJP ,had held a Hindu Mahasabha convention at Hooghly’s Tarakeswar in April, 1947.

“During this convention a decision was taken to ensure that West Bengal remained within India and that the Hindu-majority areas of undivided Bengal did not become part of East Pakistan. Later, on June 20, 1947, in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, a resolution supporting the partition of Bengal and the inclusion of West Bengal in India was passed,” West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said during the event.

Published on June 20, 2026