PM Modi Rally: PM Modi to hold a public meeting in Bengal today, his first rally in the Matua community stronghold amidst the ongoing SIR (Special Investigation Team) probe.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a visit to West Bengal on Saturday, where he will inaugurate several development projects and address a public rally. This visit comes at a time when the political temperature in Bengal is high over the issue of the intensive scrutiny of the electoral rolls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Nadia district in West Bengal on Saturday. This will be the Prime Minister's first visit to the state since the draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published, and his third visit in the last five months. Political analysts believe that the Prime Minister will try to address the growing anxiety among the Matua community regarding the NRC during his rally. He may also sound the poll bugle for the assembly elections scheduled for early next year. In a social media post on Friday evening, PM Modi wrote, "The people of West Bengal are benefiting from several pro-people initiatives of the Central Government. At the same time, they are suffering due to the misgovernance of the TMC in every sector."

The Prime Minister wrote, "The TMC's loot and intimidation have crossed all limits. That is why people have hope in the BJP." This visit comes at a time when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is continuously opposing the NRC. The TMC alleges that the NRC process is being conducted in a "hasty" manner and that it could disenfranchise a large number of people, especially Hindu refugees. More than 58 lakh names have been removed from the electoral rolls in West Bengal in the NRC draft. This has reduced the number of voters in the state to 7.08 crore.

Attempt to woo the Matua community

The Matua community, a Dalit Hindu community that has migrated to India from Bangladesh over the decades due to religious persecution, is apprehensive about the NRC because they fear their names might be struck off due to a lack of identification and documents. Political analysts believe that this community has a significant influence on 80 of the state's 294 assembly seats. In the last few years, election results have shown that the BJP has made significant inroads into this community, promising them formal Indian citizenship. BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar, who represents the Ranaghat Lok Sabha constituency, claimed that fear is being deliberately spread among the Matua community regarding the CAA. He said, "We hope the PM's message will dispel these fears and rumors." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already led anti-CAA rallies in Nadia and North 24 Parganas, two neighboring districts that share a border with Bangladesh and have a significant Matua population.

PM Modi to gift projects worth Rs 3,200 crore to Bengal

During his visit to Bengal, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for two national highway projects worth approximately Rs 3,200 crore. He will inaugurate the 66.7-kilometer-long four-lane section of National Highway-34 between Barajaguli and Krishnanagar in Nadia district and lay the foundation stone for the 17.6-kilometer-long four-lane Barasat-Barajaguli section in North 24 Parganas district. Officials said these projects are expected to create a crucial connectivity link between Kolkata and Siliguri, boosting trade, tourism, and economic activities in the southern and northern parts of the state.