Can’t ask mosquitoes not to bite: Bengal Minister’s remark sparks criticism

West Bengal Cabinet Minister Agnimitra Paul at the site after a fire broke out at a dingy five-storey building housing several hotels on Mirza Galib Street, leaving at least nine people, including a four-year-old child and two women, dead. File | Photo Credit: PTI A remark by West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul on the outbreak of vector-borne disease in the State has sparked criticism in the State’s political circles. Ms. Paul who holds the portfolio of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs said that the government will have to step up its efforts to combat the situation as mosquitoes cannot be tamed.“Cannot ask mosquitoes to bite less as the government has changed,” the Minister told journalists.There has been an outbreak of vector borne disease particularly dengue in West Bengal with over 4000 cases of dengue infection being reported and seven deaths over the past few weeks. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier this week held a meeting with officials and said that the situation was under control.Mr. Adhikari also added that the number of cases of dengue was half compared to last year. State’s Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee has urged schools to let students wear clothing that fully covers their arms and legs during the dengue season. It is, however, remarks by the Minister of Urban Development that have triggered criticism. Former Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, while sharing the Minister’s remarks on social media, said that “she alone can finish off her BJP in West Bengal! Last time she asked a homeless poor woman boiling milk for her baby in one corner of an already occupied pavement why she didn’t have a house?,” Mr. Sircar posted on social media.On August 22, three days after the fire at a hotel in Mirza Ghalib Street claimed nine lives, Ms. Paul was seen reprimanding a homeless woman on a footpath in Kolkata’s Park Street area. The woman was heating milk in a pot to feed her child. “Heating milk for a child on the pavement? In Park Street? Who gave you permission to set up your household here?” Ms. Paul was heard saying.She then asked the woman to remove her belongings from the road in the presence of several Kolkata police personnel. This had also led to widespread criticism, and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attempted damage control by meeting the woman and offering her shelter. Published - September 05, 2026 12:45 pm IST