West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on June 20 that the BJP was trying to create its own armed “cadre” base through the new defence recruitment programme.
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“Agnipath is actually a scheme to prepare cadres for the BJP. They will be the ones that will guard BJP’s office and help them to loot votes. The BJP has given a four-year lollipop to youths to make them goons,” the Chief Minister said in the State Assembly.
The Trinamool Congress [TMC] chairperson wondered whether after four years the youths who have had arms training would have approval to use arms. “What will they do after that? Then is the BJP making these youths goons,” she asked.
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The Chief Minister said that the Centre had promised two crore jobs every year. “Now before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, they are only fooling the people of the country in the name of these schemes.”
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who was in Tripura on June 20, also criticised the Agnipath scheme and demanded action against BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya who had said that ‘Agniveers’ could be employed as security guards at BJP offices.
BJP legislators, led by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, walked out of the House in protest against the Chief Minister’s remark. Mr. Adhikari said her remarks amounted to disrespecting the army.
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During her address, the Chief Minister touched on other issues, including the use of bulldozers by certain BJP governments and remarks by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma directed at Prophet Muhammad.
The West Bengal Assembly passed a motion condemning the controversial remarks. It was tabled by the State’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee during Mention Hour. “I strongly condemn the remarks made by certain leaders. Those were part of a greater design to spread hatred among communities ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” Ms. Banerjee said. “Why was the lady [Nupur Sharma] not arrested?”
She said the Kolkata Police had summoned her and she had sought four weeks’ time. West Bengal had witnessed violence in certain districts, including Howrah, over the objectionable remarks.
On the bulldozer issue, Chief Minister said that in a democracy people were the ultimate bulldozers. “Remember each time you use a bulldozer on the houses of people, you will be bulldozed in 2024” she said.