Highlighting the series of defections in the Trinamool Congress in the past three months, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that by the time polls were held in West Bengal, Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee would be left all alone.
“In the past three months so many leaders from the Trinamool Congress have joined BJP. Mamata Ji should contemplate why this is happening …. By the time polls are held you [Ms. Banerjee] will be standing all alone,” Mr. Shah said virtually addressing a public gathering at Howrah. The Home Minister also referred to another defection when several MLAs along with Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP in December last year.
He said that 10 years ago the Trinamool Congress government came to power on the slogan of ‘Maa Maati Maanush’ (Mother, Earth, Humanity) but the party had resorted to “extortion, corruption and appeasement.”
During his address, the Home Minister welcomed the TMC leaders, including former Minister Rajib Banerjee, who joined the BJP on Saturday, and expressed the hope that they would contribute to the BJP slogan of making “Sonar Bangla [Golden Bengal].”
Mr. Shah said Ms. Banerjee had taken the State to a far worse situation where the State was 10 years ago during the Left Front regime. The Home Minister raised the non-implementation of two Central government schemes Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Mr. Shah said the Trinamool Congress government was not implementing the schemes because these were run by the Centre and assured that these schemes would be implemented from the first Cabinet meeting of the BJP government in West Bengal.
The Home Minster said the Chief Minister had agreed for implementation of PM Kisan and sent a letter that she was willing for the benefits of the scheme to be disbursed to the people. “Didi do you think that people of the State won’t realise your cunningness. You sent us a letter but did not give details of the bank accounts in which the money should be deposited,” Mr. Shah said.
The Home Minister also accused the Mamata Banerjee government of working towards “ Bhajita Kalyan [welfare of the nephew]”. Mr. Shah also said the only agenda of Ms. Banerjee was to make her nephew Chief Minister.
Five Trinamool Congress leaders, including Rajib Banerjee, MLA from Bally Vaishali Dalmiya and MLA from Uttarpara Prabir Kumar Ghosal who joined the BJP, were present at the rally. Mr. Banerjee criticised that the TMC government had launched a “ Duare Sarkar [government at doorsteps]” because the government did not reach to the people in the past 10 years.
Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani, who was present at the rally, accused the TMC government of corruption during the COVID-19 outbreak and during Amphan relief. She said people of the State would never forgive the Chief Minister for calling the people returning from other States “Corona Express.”
