BJP national president J.P. Nadda kicked off the first leg of his party’s ambitious Parivartan Yatra from Nabadwip in Nadia district on Saturday with the promise of bringing a change in Bengal in the upcoming Assembly polls.
At a rally in the Vaishnab hub of Nabadwip at the launch of the yatra, which in five phases will cover all 294 Assembly segments, Nadda said change was imminent as people had suffered under Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul regime. “Ten years ago Mamatadi formed a government promising change and to protect Maa Mati Manush. But eventually, Maa was looted, Mati was disrespected and people suffered heavily,” he added.
Nadda said people of Bengal were deprived of the benefits from central schemes because of the “chief minister’s ego”. “Nearly 23 lakh farmers have submitted applications to avail the benefits of the PM Kisan Samman (Nidhi) scheme. But Mamata didi stopped the verification of their applications only because of her ego...” he alleged.
“Prime Minister Modiji has been trying to provide everything to the people of Bengal. But she does not want it...She has renamed the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan as Nirmal Bangla, launched the Bangla Gram Sadak Yojana renaming the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana,” Nadda said, accusing Mamata of preferring politics over development.
Claiming that the BJP would form the next government in Bengal, Nadda said all the central schemes would be implemented after May this year. “Nothing can prevent the BJP from forming the next government... I can see people in Bengal have made up their minds to end the rule of Mamata and her bhaipo (nephew Abhishek),” he said.
Stopping at Malda, the BJP national president tried to reach out to farmers and mango growers of the district and played the polarisation card. He attended a public meeting in Old Malda, joined in a group-lunch with farmers, and later in the day, participated in a roadshow in Malda town.
Throughout his visit, Nadda tried to drive home the point that if his party was voted to power in Bengal, farmers and mango growers of the district would get more benefits from both central and state governments.
At the road show, Nadda played the polarisation card and referred to the chief minister’s protests over the “Jai Shri Ram” slogan on Victoria Memorial premises in Calcutta on January 23. “As I moved through Malda, I heard the chant time and again. It is difficult to understand why Mamata Banerjee has a problem with it,” he said.
Amit Shah visit
Bongaon MP and chief of the All India Matua Mahasangha Shantanu Thakur on Saturday said Union home minister Amit Shah would visit Thakurnagar, the headquarters of the Mahasangha, on February 11.
Shah’s visit assumes importance as the parliamentary committee on subordinate legislation has recently granted the ministry of home affairs an extension till April 9 to frame CAA rules. The development has caused heartburn among a section of the Matuas — Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh — who had been demanding immediate implementation of CAA in Bengal.
“Amit Shah will address a public rally on February 11. He will hold the rally on the same stage set up for the meeting that was cancelled last time,” Thakur told the media.
On December 19, Shah replaced Thakurnagar with Midnapore in his itinerary as Trinamul turncoat Suvendu Adhikari switched to BJP. On January 30, Shah cancelled a trip to Thakurnagar in the wake of the explosions near the Israelo embassy in Delhi.
