Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, saying it is turning Bengali Hindus into a minority as it does not consider them as its vote bank.
“Over the past few decades, the demographics have changed in many areas of Bengal. Bengali Hindus have turned into a minority. The TMC is opposed to granting citizenship to Hindus because their vote bank is of utmost importance to them. They do not consider Hindus as their vote bank because [Hindus] “Do not join their criminal gangs.”
He said the TMC opposed the Special Intensive Review (SIR) so that infiltrators would not be removed from the voters list. “They are not even ready to delete the names of deceased voters,” Modi said at a rally in Kolkata ahead of possible Lok Sabha elections in the state next month.
Modi had earlier laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several infrastructure and development projects $18680 Crores.
Sayoni Ghosh, a Rajya Sabha member from TMC, responded by asking whether Modi or the BJP have any other narrative than Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan, and the reasons for burying crematoria?
State Minister Bratya Basu said that more than 6.3 million names have been deleted from the electoral roll, and many more names are under adjudication in the state. “How many Rohingya and Bangladeshis have been found? How many infiltrators are there?”
Modi criticized the TMC for alleged protocol violations at an event attended by President Draupadi Murmu last week. He said the TMC was unable to accept the high respect accorded to tribal women. “Chief Murmu is an Adivasi [tribal] The community came to West Bengal to attend an international conference on Santhals. But the arrogant and cruel TMC government spoiled the matter. …The President of India had to express her pain.”
Ghosh confirmed that Murmu had come to campaign politically. “It was unprecedented.” When women were raped and paraded naked in Manipur, did it not occur to Modi that they were also tribal women, Gosh wondered?
Modi said the TMC came to power with its slogan “Maa (mother), Mati (soil), Manush (people)”. “Today, mothers are crying, soil is being plundered, and Bengalis are being forced to leave the state. Infiltration is a major threat to Bengal’s food, beti (daughters) and mate (soil).”
He said that in most crimes, one criminal or the other is either a TMC leader or associated with the party. “The TMC government is openly siding with criminals and trying to protect them. This stance has led to an increase in attacks on women.”
Modi said the TMC government has one agenda. “They will not work themselves, they will not allow anyone to work. Until they get their reduced money, they are not allowing any benefits to reach the poor. That is why they have curbed the Centre’s programmes,” Modi said.
He said the TMC riots were coming to an end. “The countdown to the overthrow of the TMC government has begun. Today, the trumpet of a new revolution has sounded in Bengal. The writing is on the wall and in the hearts of the people. The end of the harsh government is inevitable. Mahajangal Raj will come to an end,” he said.
Ahead of Modi’s programmes, a clash broke out between supporters and workers of the TMC and the BJP in Kolkata. State Minister Sashi Banga said she was injured when BJP workers attacked her house.
“BJP is holding a rally with goons. My house was attacked. Stones were thrown, windows were smashed. I am sure they were all well prepared to carry out the attack. Look at their audacity.”
