Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Siliguri/Cooch Behar (West Bengal): BJP president Amit Shah on Tuesday charged the ruling Trinamool Congress in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal with unleashing violence, adding that the party would not be able to stop Narendra Modi's chariot.
"The lotus will bloom in Bengal," he asserted. "TMC may think they can stop Modiji's chariot, but they cannot stop it. The more they try to stop us, the more the lotus will bloom here," he said at a meeting of BJP workers at Naxalbari.
"In 2019 (Lok Sabha polls), the BJP will get the maximum number of seats in West Bengal. The people of the country will witness it," claimed Shah. "The TMC is unleashing violence but in the end, the BJP's victory in Bengal is certain. No one can stop it," he said.
"Bengal, which was once at the forefront of development, now lags behind. Unemployment is high and the TMC government is following the policy of appeasement (of minorities)," alleged Shah.
The BJP chief, who arrived here on a three-day visit, had lunch at the house of a tribal family before interacting with party workers. Sitting on the floor of Raju Mahali's house at Dakkhin Katiajote village in Naxalbari, he had a meal of rice, moong dal, 'potol' (a kind of gourd) fry, squash curry, salad and papad, served on a banana leaf.
Shah said he would tour five states in 15 days in a bid to expand the party's presence. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, called upon people not to go to BJP alleging that the saffron party divides people in the name of religion.
"We do not believe in the BJP's Hindutva which divides people. They are not Hindus. They defame Hinduism. They create communal tension in the name of religion," she told a public meeting in Cooch Behar. "I am a Hindu. I love and respect all religions. We will not tolerate communal flare-up in the name of religion," she said.
Talking about Modi's Sabka sath sabka vikas slogan, the BJP president claimed that development was reaching "every nook and corner" of the country, but the TMC government was "not allowing" it to happen in Bengal.
"The Naxals had started their violent activities here at Naxalbari and now, development and progress will start from here," Shah said, adding, "Under Narendra Modi's leadership, Bengal will very soon be on the path of development." Lauding the Centre's demonetisation move, the BJP chief claimed that it had proved to be "beneficial" for the country and had played a "big role" in the recently-held Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
Shah is scheduled to visit Mamata Banerjee's Assembly constituency Bhabanipur on Wednesday. In Kolkata, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, "One after another BJP leader is arriving here and talking big. They should talk less, and work more". Referring to Shah's statement that in 2019 BJP would get maximum number of seats in Bengal, Chatterjee said, "Let them think about whether they will be able to remain in (power) Delhi. Whatever be the case, BJP will not be there", he said.
