Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday addressed a virtual rally for West Bengal via video conference and called the Mamata Banerjee government a failure and sought a chance for Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party to fix the problems faced by the state.
Kicking off the BJP’s campaign for 2021 Assembly election, Amit Shah said that BJP will never forget the sacrifice of workers and promised to return the glory of the state.
Amit Shah slammed the Mamata Banerjee government over political killing in West Bengal and said, “Since 2014, over 100 BJP workers lost their lives in political battle here in West Bengal. I pay my respect to their families as they’ve contributed to development of Sonar Bangla.”
Accusing the TMC government of indulging in violence, Shah said, “Bengal is the only state where communal violence is still ongoing. It should stop. I assure you that BJP isn’t here just to bring a revolution or do politics, but also build a cultural and traditional Bengal again. We want to create Sonar Bangla again.”
He further said, “For me, the most important win was not the 303 but the 18 seats we won in Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections.”
The saffron party has witnessed a steady increase in its support base and has emerged as the main opposition to the ruling Trinamool Congress government. 2019 Lok Sabha polls saw the BJP win 18 of the 42 seats in the state, their best-ever performance in the state.
On Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to the Citizenship Act, Amit Shah said, “Mamata Ji needs to come clean on why she is opposing the CAA. What is your problem if Namshudras and other such communities live respectfully in the country? People of Bengal are asking you this question as well. You will have to answer.”
Talking about the abrogation of Article 370, Shah said, “It is a matter of pride for us that the first President of our party, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherji, was from Bengal and gave his life for the unification of the country. Today, Article 370 stands abrogated and Jammu-Kashmir have been mainstreamed with the rest of the country.”
Cornering Mamata on corona-handling, Shah said that disrespecting migrants will be a major reason for Banerjee’s exit from power.
He said, “Mamata Didi, you have insulted our poor migrant Bengali brothers and sisters, who wanted to get back to their homes, by calling Shramik Express as Corona Express. I want to assure you, Mamata didi, that these words of insult will become TMC’s Exit Express from Bengal.”
He said, “We seek your support for Modi ji and we are happy that you have done the same in Lok Sabha too. You gave communists 34 years and 10 years to Didi. Now give a chance to Modiji and you will see. Bihar, from being a Beemaru state, is on the path of development since an NDA government took charge. Uttar Pradesh is moving ahead in just three years.”
Amit Shah also hit out at Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying she doesn’t let the state get benefits from central government schemes such as the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
He said, “Just for her politics, Mamata didi didn’t allow Ayushman Bharat to be implement in the State. I want to ask Mamata Didi, do our poor sisters and brothers of Bengal have no right to receive free and quality medical facilities?”
Several important schemes like Ayushmaan Bharat and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, that would benefit lakhs, continue to be blocked by the state government, he said.
This was Amit Shah’s third virtual rally in three days. He had earlier addressed the people of Bihar and Odisha.
