PM Modi's 'muh par taala' swipe at TMC's Kalyan Banerjee: 'No one allows him to speak in Bengal'

PM Modi requested Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to allow Banerjee to speak since he is "not allowed to do so" in West Bengal.

Published on: Apr 16, 2026, 16:31:09 IST

Edited by Danita Yadav

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Lok Sabha on Thursday regarding the women's reservation bill, the senior BJP leader also took a swipe at Trinamool Congress' MP Kalyan Banerjee.

In the swipe, which also comes in the run up to the West Bengal assembly elections, PM Modi requested Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla to allow Banerjee to speak since he is "not allowed to do so" in West Bengal.

As Modi addressed the lower house, the TMC MP was heard raising his objection to the prime minister. In a clip from the address, which is now making rounds on social media, Birla is seen asking Banerjee to take his seat.

However, watching this, PM Modi told Birla: "Arre bhai, inko bolne dijiye, waha par bechare ke muh pe taala laga hua hai. Waha Bengal me koi bolne nahi deta isko." (Let him speak. he has a lock on his mouth since they don't allow him to speak in Bengal)

The prime minister's remark echo the friction between Banerjee and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

In 2025, Banerjee was involved in a very public spat with fellow TMC MP Mahua Moitra, over which TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee expressed "displeasure" and asked for a stop to the infighting.

The spat, which included personal attacks between to two TMC MPs, also resulted in Kalyan Banerjee's resignation as the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha.

PM pushes for women reservation bill in Lok Sabha

On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi appealed to the opposition to allow the passage and implementation of the women's reservation bill. The bill, which was initially passed unanimously in 2023, has been pushed again with an amendment which would allow 33 per cent of Lok Sabha seats being reserved for women based on the 2011 census.

The bill also pushes for an increase in the total number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 815, of which, around 272 seats will be reserved for women.

Speaking in the lower house, PM Modi also warned the opposition, stating that if anyone were to object to this reservation, they will “not be forgiven by the women of India.”

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