Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) during a public rally in Bardhaman-Durgapur, West Bengal. He claimed that the TMC has made Hindus second-class citizens in the state and alleged that the party is shielding Shahjahan Sheikh in the Sandeshkhali case for appeasement. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Congress have also criticized the Modi government, accusing it of marginalizing the SCs, STs, and OBCs and threatening West Bengal’s industrial wealth.