As the Opposition BJP in West Bengal on Sunday rolled out its Parivartan Yatra from several places across the state ahead of the Assembly elections, its leaders targeted the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government over a wide range of issues – from infiltration, lack of jobs, to women’s safety and corruption.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who flagged off the Yatra from Cooch Behar in north Bengal, along with state president Samik Bhattacharya and former MP Nisith Pramanik, said that the 5,000-km-yatra will bring about a change in the state.
“One voice will echo across Bengal: Parivartan (the change)… We all should be ready to free Bengal from a government supporting infiltrators… stealing the rights of people here. We want to give a clear message that the time has come to throw out those infiltrators whom this ruling party has supported,” Nabin alleged.
With the Election Commission (EC) deleting the names of over 60 lakh people from the state’s electoral roll following a marathon Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, Nabin said, “With fake documents, this TMC government has given shelter to infiltrators, and to fight for their rights, she had gone to the Supreme Court. Over 50 lakh infiltrators’ names have come up, and the state government has accepted it. These 50 lakh infiltrators have snatched away jobs and rations. Only the Modi government can remove the infiltrators.”
At the event in Cooch Behar district on Sunday. (Express Photo)
Accusing the ruling TMC of resorting to “appeasement politics”, he claimed, “We are required to seek permission from the court to perform Kali Puja, yet no such restrictions apply to observing ‘namaaz’. When we request land to build a border fence in West Bengal, Mamata claims there is no land available and delays the process. However, when it comes to appeasement politics, she will lay down the red carpet.”
Urging people to vote for the BJP, Nabin promised a “safer Bengal”. “Such a Bengal will be made where daughters will be safe, youths will get jobs, the syndicate and corruption will end, and the people of Bengal will get their due rights on their land,” he claimed.
Referring to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s “Ma, Mati, Manush” slogan, Nabin said: “Mamata Didi, before coming to power, had given the slogan Ma Mati Manush, but sadly, the women of this state, under her rule, are unsafe, and girls in educational places are also not safe. Mamata Banerjee has said girls should not go out at night. She did not protect the women. But I saw what she could not do. Each and every brother of Bengal will protect their sister.”
Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda, who flagged off the Yatra in Nabadwip, in Nadia district, said the TMC government has pushed Bengal backwards. “Bengal was once known for its industrial production. People used to say, ‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow.’ But under Mamata Ji’s government, Bengal took a step back. Coal mines closed, industries shut down, and over 6600 industries left the state or stopped production in the last 14 years.”
“In 2015, 817 industries closed down, in 2016-17, 918 shut down. This is a big loss for Bengal. Over 1,300 industries have shifted to Maharashtra, while some have shifted to Delhi. Britannia, which made biscuits have also closed its factory here. Bengal during independence had an industrial contribution of 24 percent; now it is 3.5 percent. This is the sad condition of Bengal now. Small industries have also closed down,” he claimed.
He further said, “Foreign direct investment stopped. Here, FDI means: fraud, deception, incompetence. The Mamata government has achieved a record in infiltration, and she wants to make it an “Adda” for infiltrators. Bengal’s own people will become a minority, and the Mamata government is giving shelter to infiltrators. Such a government has to be changed. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there are over 28 percent acid attack cases, it clearly shows a collapse in law and order. We all know what happened in the RG Kar rape and murder and how the TMC has tried to cover it up.”
The senior BJP leader, who was accompanied by party MP Sukanta Majumdar and former state president Rahul Sinha, highlighted the BJP’s achievements at the Centre, saying India is now the fourth-largest economy in the world.
Story continues below this ad
According to Nadda, the prime minister has developed the entire country. “World Bank says the bright spot is Bharat, we are number 2 in steel manufacturing. Development of roads and highways has always been stopped by the Mamata government. New railway projects have been given in Nadia, and Amrit Bharat stations are also being built here. PM Narendra Modi has given 11 medical colleges to Bengal. The people have been deprived of Ayushmann Bharat.”
“The Mamata Government is not giving land for fencing and allowing infiltration. Bring the change, and we will come to power and seal the borders and not allow any infiltrators from Bangladesh,” he added.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who addressed a meeting in Medinipur in Jhargram district, accused the TMC government of looting the state’s funds. “We will form a government in May and conduct an investigation into the corruption,” he said.
Pradhan was accompanied by the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and he held an internal meeting with the party workers in Garbeta.
Story continues below this ad
“In Bengal, for the last 15 yrs, the corrupt TMC has been ruling, before that for 34 years it was the Left rule, and before that the Congress…The central government sends funds for mid-day meals for school students. I was sent a paper by Suvendu Adhikari showing that the fund was being taken by the TMC as party fund. I initiated a CBI enquiry on it, and the allegations were proved. We will investigate the Rs 10 lakh crore fund sent by Modi Ji for various schemes, which has been looted by the TMC.”
According to Pradhan, the most neglected department in Bengal is the education department. “Bengal at one time was the leader in intellectual thinking, and it has been destroyed the most by the current government. There are several schools across the country, without teachers, and half of these teacher-less schools are in Bengal. For Jadavpur University, we were giving funds, but Mamata Ji did not take them because then Modiji will be famous.”
According to Pradhan, a double-engine government, “one engine from Delhi and one from Bengal” will make it stronger. “Mamata Banerjee wants the names of Bangladeshi illegal voters, and Rohingyas be put in the Bengal voter list. What the EC did was absolutely correct. Mamata ran to the SC for illegal Bangladeshis.”
Union Minister of Women & Child Development Annapurna Devi expressed confidence that the election outcome would bring the BJP to power in Bengal. Addressing a rally in Kulti in Asansol district, along with senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, she said that while Bengal once led national progress, governance failures have forced youth migration and weakened public welfare delivery. She alleged corruption in employment and welfare schemes and emphasised that the BJP would ensure direct delivery of benefits without cut-money practices.
Story continues below this ad
Devi announced that under the proposed Annapurna Bhandar Scheme, financial assistance of Rs 3,000 would be provided to women to enhance economic empowerment and ensure safety and dignity. She further assured full implementation of central welfare schemes, including Ayushman Bharat, and emphasized the need for accessible, clean drinking water and people-centric governance.
The Parivartan Yatra will cover over 5,000 km in each assembly constituency, with 63 big public meetings and 282 small public meetings. The Yatra will culminate with a massive rally at Brigade Parade Ground, addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the end of March.
