Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday intensified his attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, alleging that as women and the Dalit community died, under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule, they had to suffer the most.
His remarks came on the penultimate day of campaigning for the second and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, in which the remaining 142 constituencies will vote on April 29.
Modi addressed the Dalit Matua community for the first time this election season, weeks after hundreds of members of the community were removed from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process.
“I can see maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they suffered the most during the 15-year-long TMC regime. The record turnout in the first phase of polls has crushed the pride of the TMC. The second phase will ensure the formation of a BJP government. I can see maximum enthusiasm among the women present here because they have suffered the most during the TMC regime,” Modi said at an election rally in Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district. The 15-year Transitional Military Council.
Read also | Modi slams TMC over ‘chaos’ at Jadavpur University; Mamata says it’s democracy
Modi claimed that the TMC had “stopped talking” about “Ma Mati Manush”, the party’s slogan when it came to power 15 years ago, because doing so would “expose the sins they committed in Bengal”.
“While the ‘ma’ (mother) is crying now, the ‘mati’ (land) has been handed over to unions and infiltrators, and the ‘manush’ (people) have been forced to leave the state in search of opportunities elsewhere,” he added.
He also reiterated the election promises made by the BJP to the people of the eastern state.
“Once the BJP government is formed, we will provide free rice which will help you save $7000-10000 annually. TMC supplies arsenic-laden water in this area. BJP will provide clean drinking water and $80,000 to set up a solar power plant at home. The banks will give each sister a $Mudra loan 20,000 to start a business. “Modi will be the guarantor of the loan,” Modi said. The Bangladesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced an annual aid of Rs $36 thousand for all women and 33% reservation in government jobs.”
Read also | In the record first phase vote in Bengal, PM Modi and Mamata Banerjee read contradictory messages
The Matua, part of the large Namasudra Dalit community, came as refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) after partition in 1947 and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.
With their strong presence in North 24 Parganas (Bengal’s largest district with 33 seats) and Nadia (17 seats), the Matuas have supported the BJP in all the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls since 2019 because they were guaranteed citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, many are yet to receive it despite filling out online forms. Many of them sided with the Transitional Military Council.
Addressing the community, Modi said, “Jan Sangh founder Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was the spokesperson for all these refugees. The BJP carries this legacy and that is why the Citizenship Act was brought. The Matua Namasudras and all other refugees will get citizenship, permanent address and all the documents that other citizens get. This is Modi’s guarantee. Those who are thinking of voting for TMC will hurt the soul of their ancestors.”
“I swear that all infiltrators living here with fake documents provided by the TMC will be expelled if they do not leave before the election results are announced on May 4,” he added.
He also addressed a rally at Haripal in Hooghly district.
Suma Thakur, wife of All India Matua Mahasangha leader and Union Minister of State Shantanu Thakur, is the BJP candidate from Bagdah (SC) seat in North 24 Parganas, contesting against her relative and sitting MLA Mahoparna Thakur, daughter of TMC Rajya Sabha member Mamata Bala Thakur, who heads the other faction of Mahasangha.
Read also | Amit Shah says BJP will win 110 seats in first phase, forms government in West Bengal
Reacting to Modi’s visit, Mamata Bala Thakur said: “The BJP has repeatedly made false promises to the matuas. It claimed that the SIR exercise will identify Muslim infiltrators but the number of matuas delisted in several districts is around 30 lakh.”
The Prime Minister also offered prayers at the Matua Thakur temple in Thakurnagar. “He prayed at Matua Thakur temple earlier today. I prayed the ideals of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur Ji and Sri Sri Guruchand Thakur Ji in illuminating our society,” he said in a post on X.
Later in the day, Modi participated in a roadshow in north Kolkata as the BJP intensified its campaign ahead of the second and final phase of the elections.
Every infiltrator will repeat: Shah
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah made similar promises to women voters in Hazami Matua in Tehata and Ranaghat in Nadia district on the border with Bangladesh. “The TMC has been providing biryani to infiltrators all these years while Modi ji was giving befitting response to Pulwama attack and Pahalgam terror attack. After May 5, every infiltrator will be identified and sent back,” he said.
The TMC has repeatedly responded to Shah’s claims, pointing out that the Border Security Force (BSF) guarding the border is under the MHA. “Once each of you returns home after this rally, ask 25 people in your family to vote for the BJP. This alone can put an end to the chaos started by the TMC,” Shah said in Ranaghat. In Tehata, known for its multi-crop cultivation, Shah assured garlic farmers that they would get a fair price if the BJP came to power.
“Garlic is sold at a price $200 kilos all over the country but here they sell it $12 Because Chinese garlic was pushed into the market. The BJP will stop such imports, he said.
Polling for 152 of the 294 seats in the assembly was held on April 23, with a record turnout of 92.35%.
