Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and his wife were denied permission to land their helicopter in West Bengal’s Jhargram on Sunday due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unscheduled ‘jhalmuri’ stop, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has alleged.
Soren and MLA Kalpana Soren were kept waiting for hours and eventually forced to return to Ranchi because of Modi’s “extended snack break and photo-ops”, the Party said.
“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 was denied permission to fly their chopper into Jhargram while Modi was present,” the TMC wrote on X.
“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,” they added.
“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,” the TMC said.
On Sunday, Modi made a stop at a roadside stall in Jhargram during his campaign. “Jhalmuri Break in Jhargram,” he posted on X with a video.
In the video, he was seen asking a vendor for the snack, saying, “Bhai, hame apna Jhalmuri khilao,” before asking the price and paying with a ₹10 note. A crowd gathered at the spot, raising slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram”, “Narendra Modi zindabad”, and “Bharat Mata ki jai”.
In another post, Modi said he stopped for “delicious jhalmuri” between four rallies in West Bengal.
“He came to Jhargram to court the Adivasi vote,” the TMC said in their post later on Sunday. The PM’s “Adivasi-Birodhi mindset” was exposed, the Party alleged.
“Bengal saw it. And Bengal will remember it on 4th May.”
Bengal goes to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Results will be out on May 4.
Speaking in Jhargram, Modi said the TMC aimed to form a government “of infiltrators and for infiltrators.” He framed the election as a fight to protect Bengal’s identity and accused the party of failing tribal regions.
