NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over jhalmuri break in West Bengal’s Jhargram and claimed that his decision to extend his stay caused Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren to return to Ranchi without completing his scheduled campaign for Mamata Banerjee.In a social media post on X, TMC termed the Prime Minister’s candid break as “photo ops” and accused him of humiliating an Adivasi leader.“Narendra Modi’s Adivasi-birodhi mindset has been exposed for all to see. Because the ‘Pradhan Sevak’ decided to extend his stay in Jhargram to eat jhalmuri, Jharkhand Chief Minister Shri Hemant Soren and his wife and MLA Smt. Kalpana Soren were denied permission to fly their chopper into Jhargram while Modi was present,” the party said.“Two democratically elected leaders. Grounded. Kept waiting for hours. And ultimately forced to return to Ranchi without completing their scheduled programme, all because a Prime Minister’s extended snack break and photo ops took precedence over their democratic rights and constitutional standing. This is the respect Modi has for Adivasi leaders. This is the regard he has for elected representatives who do not bend the knee before him. He came to Jhargram to court the Adivasi vote. He left having humiliated the very people he claimed to stand with. Bengal saw it. And Bengal will remember it on 4th May,” it added.This comes as PM Modi on Sunday took a jhalmuri break amid the hustle, bustle and political heat of West Bengal, where the BJP, led by him, is mounting a strong challenge to Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year incumbency.Also Read: ‘Do you eat onions?’ PM Modi takes ‘jhalmuri break’ during Bengal poll campaign – watchAfter concluding his address in Jhargram, PM Modi walked up to a jhalmuri stall and said, “Bhai, hume apna jhalmuri khilao.”As the vendor prepared the snack, the Prime Minister engaged him in a brief chat, asking, “Kitne ka hota hai jhalmuri?” He then reached into the pocket of his Nehru jacket to pay.Meanwhile, the vendor asked, “Aap pyaaz khaate hain?” PM replied, “Haan, pyaaz khaate hain. Dimag nahi khaate bas.”PM Modi held multiple rallies across Bengal on Sunday, addressing gatherings in Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and Medinipur, further intensifying the already heated contest between the TMC and the BJP.In Jhargram, the Prime Minister spoke about the larger national controversy that had been dominating political discourse all week, the collapse of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill 2026, which sought to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 and operationalise the women’s reservation law.PM Modi accused the ruling TMC of being anti-tribal and anti-women and of turning a blind eye to local grievances, including illegal land occupations.PM Modi said the women of Bengal have been deprived of their rights, security and economic opportunities under the TMC regime, asserting that women’s empowerment remains a key priority for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The PM said, “You gave 15 years to the ruthless TMC government. In these 15 years, what did the ruthless TMC sarkar give you? What did the Adivasi (tribal) areas get? Na padai, na kamai, na dawai, na sichai (no education, no earnings, no medicine, and no irrigation)… If you have to build even a small house, you have to rely on the TMC syndicate. Be it an MP or MLA of the TMC, they don’t care about your problems. These people are just interested in filling up their tijoris (coffers). Here, the TMC has encroached upon hundreds of acres of tribal land.”Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases — on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
