Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday used the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti to urge the voters of Bengal to give “30-to-35 seats” before rolling out two polarising promises — introduction of the CAA at any cost and a permanent stop on infiltration from beyond the borders.
“We will implement the CAA at any cost. Neither the Congress nor the TMC (Trinamool Congress) can stop us from implementing it. Also, the BJP will win 30 to 35 (Lok Sabha) seats in the state. Once we get 35 seats, we will permanently stop infiltration in Bengal,” Shah said while addressing a rally at Karandighi in North Dinajpur.
The rally was organised in support of Raiganj BJP candidate Kartik Pal.
The Union home minister then deftly juxtaposed the Hanuman Jayanti with the Ram temple in Ayodhya and appealed to the audience to give more seats to the BJP from Bengal.
“Bengal gave us 18 seats (in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls) and we crossed the 300 mark. In due course, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave you the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” said Shah.
He also participated in a road show in Malda on Tuesday and spoke for around five minutes.
The content of the addresses that Shah delivered in Malda and North Dinajpur, both of which have around 50 per cent minority population, made it clear that the BJP was banking on a divisive agenda to realise its target of “30 to 35 seats” in the state.
“Mamata Didi, on the one hand, you are bringing in infiltrators but on the other hand, you are opposing the conferment of citizenship on religious minorities, who have taken refuge in our country. What problem do you have if citizenship is granted to these people? They have equal rights like us in India,” said Shah at Karandighi.
After the announcement of the general election, this is Shah’s third visit to Bengal, a state which is considered to be a key battleground for the BJP which has set itself a target of “400-plus seats”.
In 2019, the BJP had bagged two of three seats in North Dinajpur and Malda — Raiganj and Malda Uttar — while the Congress had won from Malda Dakshin.
“We lost the Malda Dakshin seat by a slender margin (around 8,000 votes). This time, we are determined to secure this seat as well,” said the Union home minister at the road show in Malda.
MLA Sreerupa Mitra Choudhury has been fielded by the BJP in the Malda Dakshin constituency for the second time.
Shah, while addressing a gathering of around 30,000 people in Karandighi, also referred to Monday’s Calcutta High Court verdict that cancelled the appointments of over 25,000 teachers at state-aided and sponsored schools.
“Trinamul leaders have taken Rs 10-15 lakh from people for teachers’ jobs and now, 25,000 teachers have lost their jobs. The money was later recovered from a minister’s house and he is in jail now. This shows how deeply the TMC is involved in corruption,” said Shah.
He also referred to the “change in the lifestyle” of Trinamool leaders. “Around 10-15 years ago, these leaders used to stay in shanties and would ride bicycles. Now they live in four-storied buildings and move around in luxury cars while depriving common people,” he said.
To pursue his polarising agenda, Shah went on to speak about atrocities meted out to women in Sandeshkhali allegedly by Trinamool leaders.
“The torture meted out to women in Sandeshkhali has shocked the entire nation. But Mamata Didi didn’t take any steps against the perpetrators. This is because they are her vote bank,” said Shah.
The Union home minister also said: “We wanted to set up AIIMS in north Bengal but Mamata Banerjee didn’t let it happen. It is Modi’s guarantee that we will set up an AIIMS here.”
“We also wanted to build a highway to connect Raiganj with Bihar (North Dinajpur shares borders with Bihar). I spoke to Mamata Banerjee to get the NOC (no-objection certificate) for the project that would have boosted the economy of this region. The Bihar government gave it to us but the Bengal government didn’t give the NOC,” he added.
