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Nobody an outsider in Tagore’s Bengal, says PM Modi; invokes national anthem
Banerjee, on the other hand, accused the BJP of circulating money among people to secure votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday made one of his strongest speeches against chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s “outsider” narrative against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in poll-bound West Bengal, saying nobody can be called an outsider in a land where icons such as Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Subhas Chandra Bose talked of unity and one nation.
PM Modi made the statement at his rally in East Midnapore district’s Contai.
“You call me an outsider? This is the land where Gurudev wrote Punjab Sindhu Gujarat Maratha Dravida Utkal Banga…..No Indian is an outsider here. We are all Indians,” Modi said in Bengali while paying rich tribute to Tagore and the national anthem.
“Bengal has brought the nation together with Vande Mataram…. We are all children of Bharat Mata,” said Modi, referring to novelist Chattopadhyay’s composition which became the official national song after Independence.
Making a vitriolic speech, the Prime Minister accused the ruling party of insulting BJP leaders and making fun of them. When the BJP forms the government in Bengal a son of the soil will become the chief minister, he said.
Banerjee, on the other hand, accused the BJP of circulating money among people to secure votes.
Addressing a rally at Bankura district’s Onda, one of the three places she visited during the day, Banerjee said, “They are bringing a lot of money. Keep your eyes open. If you can catch someone red-handed you will be rewarded with a job.”
The TMC also complained to the Election Commission of India during the day against Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and other Central ministers. The party said they were misusing government infrastructure and facilities for carrying out political campaign in Bengal.
Modi, while addressing people in Kanthi, targeted Banerjee for her remarks in Nandigram.
Indirectly referring to Banerjee’s allegation that some people in Nandigram intentionally assaulted her on March 10, leading to her ankle injury, the prime minister alleged Banerjee insulted the local people.
Banerjee is contesting against her protégé-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari at Nandigram. The BJP candidate and his father Sisir Adhikari, the TMC Lok Sabha member of Contai, were present at Modi’s rally. The latter recently joined the BJP.
A long violent land agitation in the last years of the Left Front government helped Banerjee overthrow the Marxists.
“You are maligning the people of Nandigram before the country. The people of Nandigram will not forgive you. They will give you a befitting reply,” Modi said.
Reiterating his allegations on extortion, bribery and violence, Modi said, “Bengal wakes up to the noise of bombs and guns every day. Buildings are blown off. Only the BJP can put an end to this.”
He also indirectly referred to Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, calling him “bhaipo” (nephew). The relief material sent for victims of Cyclone Amphan was looted through the “bhaipo window,” said Modi.
