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Mamata govt believes in appeasement, patronising terrorists: JP Nadda in Bengal
BJP president J P Nadda alleged that chief minister Mamata Banerjee never seemed to be bothered about Sandeshkhali and said that women are not safe in Bengal
The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal believes in appeasement and dividing people on religious lines, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J P Nadda alleged on Sunday at back-to-back Lok Sabha campaign rallies in the state’s Murshidabad and Nadia districts.
This was Nadda’s first Bengal tour since the announcement of the polls.
At both rallies, he focused on North 24 Parganas district’s Sandeshkhali, which has been on the boil since February following allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault on women raised by local farmers against a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) panchayat leaders, headed by Sheikh Shahjahan, who was arrested and handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as ordered by the Calcutta high court.
“Women are not safe in Bengal. Sandeshkhali has proved that. Mamata Banerjee never seemed to be bothered about Sandeshkhali. She took no action against Sheikh Shahjahan. TMC workers grabbed the lands from common people. No action was taken in all these years,” said Nadda.
Referring to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) enforced across the nation in March, Nadda alleged that Banerjee is opposing it to appease Muslims.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given citizenship to Hindu and Dalit refugees from Bangladesh but Mamata Banerjee opposes it. She is appeasing Muslims,” Nadda said.
“Mamata Banerjee’s government believes in appeasement, dividing people and patronising terrorists. But when Pakistan attacks India, Modi Ji’s government gives a befitting reply by crossing the border,” Nadda said at the Berhampore constituency in Murshidabad district, which has Bengal’s highest Muslim population of 66.28%.
The Berhampore seat, which goes to polls in the fourth phase on May 13, has been held by Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury since 1999. Once considered a Congress bastion, both the BJP and Banerjee’s TMC have gained ground in the district since 2011 when the state’s 34-year-long Left Front regime ended.
“The Congress is now talking of reservation for Muslims to appease them. Whether it is the Congress, CPI(M) or TMC, all want to weaken the nation. We will not let that happen,” said Nadda.
“During the Congress regime at the Centre, terrorists from Kashmir used to be invited to Delhi for talks. Such things won’t happen again,” Nadda said.
Quoting 19th century Congress leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s “What Bengal thinks today India thinks tomorrow” statement, Nadda said, “Bengal was supposed to rise above others, but it stopped on its path because of Mamata Banerjee’s misrule. Make our candidate Nirmal Saha your MP and Modi Ji will take you ahead.”
“Economy in developed nations such as Japan and Russia are in crisis, but Indian economy is on its way to become the third largest in the world. We have left Japan behind in automobile manufacturing. The cheapest and best drugs are made in India. Our exports have gone up,” Nadda said at Berhampore.
At his second rally in Nadia district’s Ranaghat, which also goes to
polls on May 13, Nadda said: “India used to import toys from China. Now India is the world’s third largest manufacturer of toys. Idols of Durga and Ganesh used to come from China with ‘made in China’ markings. Now they are made in India. Ten years ago, all mobile phones used to come from China, Taiwan or Japan. These are made in India now.”
“Modi Ji sent funds for the rural housing scheme (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) but Mamata Banerjee changed the name to Bangla Awas Yojana to misguide you. She diverted the funds and did not provide utilisation certificates,” Nadda said.
The TMC has alleged in its campaign that the Centre stopped sending funds for the project since 2021 because the BJP suffered defeat in the assembly polls.
Countering Nadda, TMC spokesperson Santanu Sen said: “The TMC doesn’t believe in divisive and appeasement politics. These are done by the BJP. Shahjahan was arrested by the state police although he is an elected people’s representative of the TMC. No BJP-run state can cite such an example. And CAA is simply a propaganda. BJP leaders know that very well. No BJP leader has applied for citizenship under CAA so far.”
