CLAIM: A video clip shows Mamata Banerjee saying, “I want you to stay poor. Whatever food you have at your home, eat and survive.”
CONCLUSION: Misleading. The quote is taken out of context and Mamata Banerjee addressed TMC party workers not to fall prey to exploitative practices.
RATING: Misleading — 
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On July 23, 2025, a video clip featuring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went viral on social media, particularly using a post shared by Keya Ghosh, a verified user on X (formerly Twitter). The six-second video shows Mamata Banerjee speaking passionately at a political rally, with the post claiming she said: “I want you to stay poor. Whatever food you have at your home, eat and survive.”
The tweet implied that Mamata made this statement publicly, suggesting an insensitive remark directed at the economically weaker sections of the population. The post, which gained traction quickly with over 15,000 views, was accompanied by a video of Mamata on stage, holding a microphone and gesturing while delivering her speech.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) symbol is visible on the podium, and the national flag can be seen in the background. The claim stirred significant controversy online, with users expressing outrage and criticizing the Chief Minister for allegedly demeaning the poor. Several replies to the post accused Mamata of being disconnected from ground realities, while others questioned the context and authenticity of the quote. The same was shared by BJP West bengl’s handle as seen below:
Mamata Banerjee wants to keep the people of Bengal trapped in poverty. She has no vision left for the state’s future. The time has come to uproot the Bangla-Birodhi TMC government.#BanglaBirodhiMamata pic.twitter.com/Ks0PlGcXJP
— BJP West Bengal (@BJP4Bengal) July 23, 2025
FACT CHECK
A verification of the clip using reverse image and keyword search reveals that the viral snippet is selectively edited and misrepresents the original speech. The full video, as reported by multiple credible media outlets and accessible via news platforms, shows Mamata Banerjee was addressing Trinamool Congress party workers, not the general public. Secondly, it was posted in 2024, not in 2025.
Here’s the original video in 2024 posted by NDTV on Shaheed Diwas rally. She said in Bengali that people “who fear , would die, those who fight, will be successful. We are not cowards, we are not traitors, we know how to fight. And those who fight with us , we’ll show them that in this heavy rain no party will hold meeting or rally, except Trinamool.”
Throughout her speech, Banerjee was speaking about political resilience and self-reliance in the face of rising commodity prices. Her statements encouraged party workers to remain steadfast and resist external pressure instead of falling prey to politically motivated lures.
Even on July 23, 2025 on Shaheed Diwas day, she exhorted people stressing endurance to face inflationary pressure.
There is no recorded instance of Mamata Banerjee directly saying she “wants” people to be poor. In fact, the viral clip trims her 2024 speech to only six seconds, omitting the broader context and intent of her message. Therefore, the viral 6-second clip appears to be edited to mislead people and spark outrage by removing key context.
The focus of Mamata Banerjee was on rising prices, while encouraging people not to rely on certain exploitative practices. However, these words were tweaked to misrepresent conveying the opposite meaning. Moreover, the BJP handle posted the 2024 video claim on July 23, 2025, implying she was speaking to the public on these issues currently. Hence, the claim is false.
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