Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Trinamool Congress of indulging in politics of appeasement and asserted that the BJP would give Bengal a government that “ensures development of all, appeasement of none”.
Addressing a public rally at Chinsurah in Hooghly district, Mr. Modi raised the issue of the house of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who wrote “Vande Mataram”, lying in a dilapidated state. The Prime Minister described this as an insult to the pride of West Bengal. He alleged that there was a particular kind of politics behind such developments.
“It is the kind of politics that gives more importance to vote bank than the love for the nation. It is that kind of politics that prevents the people of the State from organising Durga Puja and preventing immersion of idols,” he observed.
Development of the State was not possible as long as cut money culture, syndicate rule and “tolabaji [extortion]” persisted, he said. He called for “asal parivartan [real change]”. “It is important for the lotus to bloom in the State so that the real change which the youth of the State have been dreaming of can be ushered in,” he stated.
Hooghly district, which was once the hub of industries, was a symbol of the decadence that successive regimes have brought to the State. “ Once there were folk songs of men from different parts of country going to Calcutta... Now the people of the district and the State have to go to other States for work. The BJP government that you have decided to bring to power will start working and taking steps to change the situation. The people of the State have made up their mind to change the government,” he said in his half an hour speech.
Piped water supply
The Prime Minister, while targeting the Trinamool Congress government on the denial of benefits of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and Ayushman Bharat, also touched upon the subject of supply of piped water in rural households of the State. He said that of the 1.5 crore to 1.75 crore rural households in the State, piped water was reaching only two lakh households and had increased to nine lakh households after the Centre’s intervention.
“The pace at which the State government is working here to provide piped water connectivity, it will take several years. The Centre sent ₹1,700 crore for piped water connectivity. Of this, only ₹ 609 crore has been spent,” he stated.
During the day, Mr. Modi also inaugurated the extension of Metro Railway from Noapara to Dakshineswar and flagged off the first service on this stretch. This 4.1 km extension has been constructed at a cost of ₹464 crore.
Speaking at the event organised by Ministry of Railways, he said Kolkata had the oldest Metro in the country, but extensions and modernisation took place only in the the past six years. The extension would benefit passengers of Hooghly, Howrah and North 24 Parganas districts and reduce the commute time between the two destinations from 90 mins to 25 mins.
