On the second day of his campaign visit to West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the State was yearning for change, and added that the BJP Chief Minister of the State will be a dhartiputra (son of the soil).
Mr. Shah’s remarks not only give some clarity about on the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate but are also aimed to address the allegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) that the BJP is an “outsider party”.
“To defeat you, Mamata ji, we do not need anyone to come from Delhi. A son of soil will stand before you and defeat you in the polls. In the coming elections we will to give West Bengal a Chief Minister who is son of the soil,” Mr. Shah said.
The Home Minister said the insider-outsider debate raked up by the TMC is aimed to create confusion. “Mamata ji is having memory loss. When Mamata ji was in Congress, did she call Indira Gandhi an outsider? Did she use to term for Prime Minister P.V. Narashima Rao? Is she trying to create a country where people of one State are not allowed in other States?” he asked.
Mr Shah who visited the Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan, held a road show in Bolpur to wrap up his two-day visit. Mr Shah had lunch at the residence of a Baul singer in Bolpur.
Enthused by the support of the crowds during the one km long road show. Mr. Shah said people of West Bengal are yearning for change as they want to get “rid of political violence, corruption, and extortion”. Addressing the gathering at the end of the political event Mr Shah said he had attended several roadshows in his life “but have never seen one like this”.
Addressing a press conference at Bolpur later in the day Mr. Shah raised the issue of political violence and said the attack on party president J.P Nadda’s convoy in Diamond Harbour “was an attack on democracy” and added that such attacks will not deter BJP even an inch from its goal of removing the TMC government in Bengal
“Even after the attack the from reaction of TMC leaders felt that they were supporting the attack,” he said. Mr. Shah reiterated that the TMC was a family run party. “TMC had been reduced to a family-run party. Instead of thinking of the welfare of 10 crore people of the State, Mamata ji is thinking how to make her nephew Chief Minister,” he alleged.
President rule an attempt to gain sympathy by Mamata
Referring to several development indicators, Mr. Shah said West Bengal has slipped on all counts — employment, agriculture, industry — except that it is number one in political violence and corruption. Asked about Ms Banerjee daring the Centre to impose President’s rule in Bengal, Mr. Shah denied any such attempt by the Centre. “She is trying to gain sympathy with such remarks. We want her to complete the entire term of her government,” he said.
CAA after COVID-19 vaccination is over
On the issue of the implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Mr. Shah evaded a direct response but added that CAA rules are yet to be framed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Once the vaccination process starts and the chain of transmission is broken then the Centre would definitely consider it,” Mr Shah said.
The BJP leadership has off late not spoken about rolling out the National Register of Citizens for Bengal and there is no clarity on the implementation of CAA in the poll-bound State.
The Union Home Minister once again welcomed Suvendu Adhikari, who joined BJP at a rally on Midnapore on Saturday and added that the party is willing to give a platform to other leaders who are willing to work for the State.
On Sunday as Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Visva Bharati, set up by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 in Santiniketan, the Trinamool Congress held protests outside Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata, alleging an insult to the revered poet.
While Mr. Shah participated in a number of events at Visva Bharati including a visit to Bangladesh Bhawan, Sangeet Bhawan at Upasana Griha at the University, senior Trinamool Congress leader and Minister in West Bengal government Subrata Mukherjee held a press conference in Kolkata alleging that the BJP has disrespected the poet.
Referring to some posters which had come up in Santiniketan on Saturday where Mr Shah’s photograph was placed above the sketch of the poet, Mr. Mukherjee said the BJP has tried to demean the poet. The posters were removed after the placement of the photographs was pointed out.
“They (the BJP) have demeaned Rabindranath... we are shocked and therefore, we are wanted to protest. They will break statue of Vidyasagar and outsiders will come belittle Rabindranath. We cannot allow this. So several of our party supporters are protesting at Jorasanko Thakurbari,” Mr. Mukherjee said. Morasko Thakurbari is the birth place of Rabindranath Tagore.
Birbhum road show
After his visit to Shantiniketan, Mr. Shah held a road show at Bolpur in Birbhum district, a short distance away. Thousands of BJP supporters had started gathering for the road show since morning.
Senior party leaders including State BJP president Dilip Ghosh, vice-president Mukul Roy and national general secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya also participated in the Birbhum road show. BJP supporters raised slogans of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ during the road show. The TMC had won the Bolpur Lok Sabha seat.
Visva Bharati cetenary
Earlier in the day, speaking to journalists in Santiniketan, Mr. Shah spoke of the rich literary and cultural legacy of Tagore who inspired both Gandhiji and Subhas Chandra Bose.
“By setting up Visva Bharati, Gurudev Tagore on one hand developed and disseminated Indian language, culture and philosophy and on the other hand he brought the language, culture and philosophy of other countries to Visva Bharati,” the Home Minister said.
Pointing out that Tagore is perhaps the only person who wrote national anthem of two countries (India and Bangladesh), Mr. Shah said Tagore’s message was that the purpose of education is to break free all shackles of narrow-mindedness.
“Now that this institution (Visva Bharati) is going to complete 100 years, we should spread the message of Gurudev more emphatically and the Indian culture and language should get world recognition,” Mr. Shah said. Visva Bharati was set up by Tagore in 1921.
