Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday development will start in West Bengal on May 2, when the votes for the assembly elections will be counted, and the game of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress will be over. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Prime Minister said, will bring development, education and jobs to the state at a rally in Purulia ahead of the March 27 assembly polls.
The PM's comments were in response to the West Bengal chief minister slogan 'khela hobe' (the game is on) as polling in the state draws close. He concluded his attack by saying that 'the game will end, development will begin' in Bengali.
PM Modi also addressed the district's water crisis in this speech, stating that the Left and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) governments had not allowed industries to develop or done the kind of work required for irrigation. "First the Left government and then TMC government didn't let industries develop here. The kind of work that should've been done for irrigation, didn't take place. I know the problems faced in rearing livestock due to less water. TMC government was busy in its 'khela’ by leaving farming on its own," he said.
{{/usCountry}}PM Modi also addressed the district's water crisis in this speech, stating that the Left and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) governments had not allowed industries to develop or done the kind of work required for irrigation. "First the Left government and then TMC government didn't let industries develop here. The kind of work that should've been done for irrigation, didn't take place. I know the problems faced in rearing livestock due to less water. TMC government was busy in its 'khela’ by leaving farming on its own," he said.
{{/usCountry}}He also accused previous governments of 'discriminatory governance' and said that they were the reason for Purulia being identified as one of the most backward areas of the country. "These people have given Purulia a life riddled with a water crisis. They have given Purulia, migration. They have given the poor of Purulia, discriminatory governance. They have given Purulia an identity of being one of the most backward areas of the country," the PM said.
This is the Prime Minister's second election rally in the state after the one at Kolkata's Brigade Parade ground on March 7, which saw veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty join the BJP.
The West Bengal assembly elections will see three main competitors fighting for power, the BJP, the Left-Congress-ISF alliance and the ruling TMC. The poll procedure will be drawn out, spanning over eight phases and stretching over a month. It will begin on March 27 and end on April 29 with the results scheduled to be declared on May 2.