“Eta hotey debo na... (will not let it happen....)”

At his last campaign rally in Bengal on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used this Bengali phrase around 10 times to criticise the Mamata Banerjee government for not implementing central schemes in the state.

“The TMC can’t accept the love that people of Bengal have been showering on the BJP. TMC, which is filled with hatred for Bengal, has only one weapon left — ‘eta hotey debo na...’ Whatever development schemes Modi implements in the country, TMC says ‘eta hotey debo na’,’” Modi told a rally at Mathurapur in South 24-Parganas, the last of his 23 public meetings in Bengal since March 1.

The Prime Minister said he would be busy campaigning in Punjab on Thursday, the last day to campaign for the final phase of the general election on June 1.

In his earlier rallies, Modi used Bengali sentences like “Apnara keman aachen (How are you?)”, Sabai bhalo aachen to? (Are you well?) and “Ei bar, 400 par (This time, it will cross 400)”. He would also recite lines from the poems or songs of Rabindranath Tagore or use quotes from other Bengali polymaths.

In his Mathurapur rally, Modi accused the Mamata Banerjee government of not allowing him to implement central schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana and the one for fishermen in Bengal.

“We started a helpline number for women (seeking support and information in crisis) and Trinamool said ‘eta hotey debo na,’” Modi said while referring to other schemes not implemented by the Trinamool Congress government in the state.

The Women Helpline Scheme was introduced by the ministry of women and child development. It was launched to help women in crisis or affected by violence to provide one-stop support to connect different authorities like police and hospitals.

“The TMC is not allowing us to implement fishing-related central laws. We allotted funds of Rs 20,000 crore to provide the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to fishermen. Here, the TMC has the same words — ‘eta hotey debo na,’” he said in an area where at least four lakh families depend on fishing.

BJP leaders said the Prime Minister wisely used the Bengali phrase to connect with the people of coastal areas and Sunderbans pockets to let them know that it was not the central government but Trinamul that was depriving Bengal.

“The people of Bengal know that the state government did not allow the Centre to implement its schemes. Modiji’s comment in Bengali will help connect with the rural people easily to let them know the fact,” said BJP Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya.

The Mamata Banerjee government did not implement the central health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat in Bengal, claiming that the plan didn’t cover all people of the state. Instead, she introduced the health insurance scheme Swasthya Sathi, which provides coverage worth Rs 5 lakh to a family per year.

Trinamool has made the central government’s decision to withhold funds under schemes like MGNREGA and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) a major issue, claiming that the BJP was anti-Bengal. The Mamata Banerjee government has used its funds to pay due wages under the MGNREGA scheme to 69 lakh workers before the elections and assured that it would give grants to eligible people to build dwelling units.

Trinamool leaders said the Bengal government had better schemes than the ones which the Centre delivered with an equal share of the state.

“We have a better health scheme, Swasthya Sathi, compared to Ayushman Bharat. There are a few such central schemes that the state did not implement because the Bengal government provides better facilities compared to what Modi’s scheme
offers,” said Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh.

From his Mathurapur rally, Modi claimed his government had been sending huge funds to stop river erosion, but Trinamool had taken away the money.

“What the TMC wants is cut money,” Modi said.

Addressing a rally in Diamond Harbour, chief minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed Modi’s claim, saying the Prime Minister lied about providing funds to Bengal.

“He is a liar. Even today from Kakdwip, he lied that he paid money to Bengal. Not a single penny has he paid to us,” said Mamata.