Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal’s Leader of Opposition and a Hindu nationalist politician, has delivered an Islamophobic remark, stating that Muslim MLAs “will be thrown out of the Assembly” once the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assumes power in the state.
His statement has drawn severe criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and ignited a fierce debate over Islamophobic rhetoric in state politics.
Addressing a gathering, Adhikari stated, “We will defeat Speaker Biman Banerjee and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. After the BJP assumes power, Muslim MLAs of theirs who will win and come to the Assembly, [we will] throw them out of the House.”
His comments have led to a heated exchange between the BJP and the TMC, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly condemning the statement inside the Assembly. She accused the BJP leader of misrepresenting Hinduism for political mileage, saying, “Your imported version of the Hindu religion is neither endorsed by the Vedas nor our sages and monks. How can you possibly deny the fundamental rights of Muslims as citizens, just because they are Muslims?” She further stated, “I have the duty and the right to protect Hindus and Hinduism, but not your version of it… Please don’t come to play the Hindu card. I need no certification from you on how Hindu I am.”
The TMC later moved a censure motion against Adhikari for his remarks, which led to further tensions in the Assembly. TMC MLA Humayun Kabir demanded a retraction, warning, “I dare the LoP to withdraw the statement in 72 hours, or else the 42 MLAs (Muslim MLAs of the TMC) will make him understand the consequences in the Assembly.” However, BJP legislators opposed the motion, arguing that Adhikari had made his remarks outside the House and was being unfairly targeted.
Adhikari claimed that his statement was made in the context of his own suspension, along with other BJP MLAs, from the Assembly. He stated, “I said that as they are throwing me now, we will throw them out of the Assembly after 2026. In 2026, all TMC MLAs will be Muslim. No TMC MLA will be Hindu. We will throw them out of the Assembly.”
Protests escalated as BJP MLAs dressed in black staged a walkout from the House and held a demonstration at the Assembly’s gates. BJP Chief Whip Sankar Ghosh expressed concerns for Adhikari’s safety, stating that the Leader of the Opposition had already informed the Assembly Secretariat that “if anything happened to him inside the Assembly premises, the Speaker would be responsible.”
Mamata Banerjee, in her address to the House, rebuked the BJP’s communal stance and criticized Adhikari’s rhetoric. “How could someone have the courage to say that he will throw Muslim MLAs outside the Assembly?” she asked. She also noted that she had previously addressed controversial remarks made by leaders within her own party but asserted that Adhikari’s comments were an attempt to gain favor within the BJP. “He made such remarks to be appointed as the BJP state president,” she said.
Adhikari continued to attack Banerjee, labeling her “anti-Hindu” and accusing her of disrespecting Hindu traditions. He claimed, “She will suffer the fate of (former Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal. She is upset with me because I have defeated her at Nandigram (in the 2021 Assembly election) by a margin of 1,956 votes. She will lose Bhawanipore (the Chief Minister’s constituency in south Kolkata) also (in 2026).”
Further intensifying the Islamophobic narrative, Adhikari reiterated his belief that in the 2026 elections, the TMC would not have any Hindu representatives. “None of the Hindu MLAs of the Trinamool Congress would be elected, and only Muslim MLAs will be able to win the Assembly election,” he claimed. Citing the case of Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, who was once forced out of the House by Aam Aadmi Party legislators, Adhikari remarked that “the Muslim MLAs of the TMC would suffer a similar fate when the BJP came to power in West Bengal.”
As the political storm raged, Congress leader and former MLA Ali Imran Ramz filed a complaint against Adhikari at Chakulia Police Station in Uttar Dinajpur district, accusing him of making “communal remarks.”
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