Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sounded a warning at a rally near here that voting in favour of the BJP would lead to the return of Maoists and disruptions in normal life in the Jungle Mahal.
The chief minister’s message was aimed at reminding the residents of violence unleashed by the Left extremists in the Jungle Mahal between 2008 and 2011 and how the Trinamul Congress government had brought peace to the region.
“Purulia will not be Purulia or today’s Rupasi Bangla if the BJP comes here. You will see that the Maoists will come again (if the BJP comes to power). The BJP is more dangerous than the Maoists,” Mamata told over two lakh people at Hatmura football ground, 12km from Purulia town.
The chief minister did not explain why she said the BJP was more dangerous than the Maoists, but sources close to her said that she was obliquely referring to the spread of RSS network in tribal-dominated areas in the Jungle Mahal.
The Trinamul chief made her success in bringing peace to the Jungle Mahal — which includes Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore and now Jhargram — the theme of her address.
“Earlier, the people of the Jungle Mahal could not walk freely on roads because of the fear of Maoists. The same Maoists later surrendered and joined the mainstream of the society. We offered many of them jobs of home guards and they started serving the nation... I promise that those who haven’t got jobs till now would get them soon,” she said.
The focus on peace, several Trinamul leaders said, was a potent theme to take on the BJP, which has been steadily growing in the region. The saffron party bagged five out of the six Lok Sabha seats and was ahead in 31 of the 40 Assembly segments in the Jungle Mahal in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“Where was the BJP when Baghmundi or Balarampur were bleeding? Ask the BJP leaders, where were they when the Ajodhya hills (in Purulia) were soaked in blood? Today, the BJP leaders are coming from Jharkhand because of the vote. But there was no one during the unrest in the Jungle Mahal,” said the chief minister as she highlighted her achievements in bringing peace to the region.
Mamata also referred to how the development took place in Purulia and adjoining areas after the Maoist problem was solved as the region’s tourism potential was realised with the return of peace.
“People are coming here for tourism, even film shoots are taking place... Several new hotels are being set up. I want more hotels here so that local youths get jobs,” she added.
Ujjwal Kumar, the deputy chief of the Trinamul-run Purulia’s Arsha panchayat samity, said the chief minister did the right thing by reminding people of the dark days of Maoist domination in the region.
“So many youths go distracted... Even I was attached to the banned outfit. I am back in the mainstream only because of the chief minister,” he said.
The Maoists held sway in large parts of the Jungle Mahal and hundreds of political activists and ordinary people were killed between 2008 and 2011. The situation changed remarkably since Mamata came to power and the police launched an offensive on the banned outfit and its main leader, Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji, was killed in 2011. Her focus on delivering on development and attempts to bring the Maoist foot soldiers back to the mainstream helped in return of peace in the region.
Local BJP leaders said her attempt at drawing parallels between the BJP and the Maoists captured her fear of losing to the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls.
“The Trinamul leaders indulged in corruption in the name of development... We will expose all these after we come to power. She is scared and that’s why she is saying all these ridiculous things,” said BJP’s Purulia president Bidyasagar Chakraborty.
