Jhalmuri in Bengal Politics: TMC Outraged After Hemant Soren's Aircraft Denied Landing; Calls PM Modi 'Anti-Tribal'

A political controversy has intensified regarding Jhargram in West Bengal. The TMC has alleged that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, along with his wife—MLA Kalpana Soren—were denied permission to land their helicopter in Jhargram.

What did the TMC say?

Issuing a statement on the social media platform ‘X’, the TMC alleged that this decision was taken at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in Jhargram and had extended his own schedule. The party termed this an “anti-tribal” mindset and stated that it constitutes discrimination against tribal leaders. In its statement, the TMC noted that both leaders are democratically elected; yet, they were made to wait for hours and were subsequently forced to return to Ranchi. The party characterized this as a violation of democratic rights.

An Insult to Tribal Leaders?

The TMC alleged that Prime Minister Modi has insulted the tribal people. The party remarked, “This is Modi’s ‘respect’ for tribal leaders. This is his ‘reverence’ for those elected representatives who refuse to bow down before him. He came to Jhargram to garner tribal votes. He left after insulting the very people he claimed to stand with. Bengal has witnessed this, and Bengal will remember it on May 4th.”

PM Modi’s Visit to Jhargram

Notably, on Sunday, PM Modi addressed four public rallies in Jhargram. Following these events, he stopped at a local shop and sampled the famous street food, ‘Jhalmuri’. The shopkeeper, Deepak Kumar, recounted that PM Modi praised the food and also engaged in conversation with him. He stated, “He asked for my name and also inquired about my educational background… He stayed there for about 10 minutes and even interacted with the children.” The shopkeeper added that he had no prior knowledge that the Prime Minister would be visiting his shop.