Like Assam, BJP will bring outsiders during Bengal elections, says Mamata

Kolkata: As the poll battle intensifies with just days to go for the first phase of voting, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a sharp political offensive on Friday, using multiple election rallies to target both the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) over a range of issues.

While she hit back at PM Modi’s remarks on fish production in Bengal, she also raised strong objections over the alleged deletion of around 90 lakh names from the electoral rolls, further heating up the campaign trail.

Banerjee also referred to a newspaper report claiming that, out of 90 lakh names deleted from the electoral rolls, 60 lakh belonged to Hindus and 30 lakh to Muslims. She cautioned that the BJP should never be trusted, alleging that a similar pattern was seen during the NRC exercise in Assam, where out of 19 lakh names removed, 13 lakh were Hindus and 6 lakh were Muslims.

Banerjee also claimed that the BJP brought people from outside for the Assam elections as it was not confident of victory with the votes of the northeastern state’s residents.

Addressing an election rally at Tentulia in North 24-Parganas district, she alleged that no agency in the country was neutral under the BJP government at the Centre as “the saffron party has bought them all”.

“A trainload of 50,000 people was brought to Assam from Uttar Pradesh,” she stated.

Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly were held in a single phase on Thursday. “Even a snake can be trusted, but not the BJP,” she added, as acrimony between the TMC and the BJP gained temperature ahead of the two-phase Assembly polls. The TMC chief alleged that the BJP was trying to use the same ploy in Bengal to bring in people from outside, which is why officers were transferred.

Asking the electorate to consider her as the TMC’s candidate in all 294 seats in the state, Banerjee said: “If you want a Trinamool Congress government under my leadership, then I am the candidate in all seats.”

The TMC supremo claimed that the names of many Scheduled Caste persons have been deleted from the rolls, while maintaining that the names of electors have been deleted in her Constituency as well.

“I am not worried, I have faith in people; we will get all the remaining votes on the voter list,” the TMC chief said. Responding to PM Modi’s remarks on fish production, Banerjee on Friday cited official state figures on production growth of fish, exports, and reduced dependence on imports, defending Bengal’s fisheries record.

Banerjee, addressing an election rally, said: “Modi Babu said more fish is produced in Bihar than in Bengal and that these are sold to other states; it has to be so because the people in Bihar are not allowed to eat fish.”

Modi on Thursday criticised the state’s fisheries sector, saying production had not kept pace with demand and that West Bengal continued to depend on supplies from other states.

Banerjee retorted back saying production and incomes in the sector had increased during her tenure. “Fish production in salty water stands at 1.98 lakh metric tonnes,” she said. “Fish imports from other states have decreased from 1.12 lakh metric tonnes to 1.02 lakh metric tonnes during our government’s tenure,” she added. She stated that Bengal was exporting fish to other states and countries. Fish exports to other states exceeded imports by 76,000 tonnes, she said. “Export of fish to other countries stood at 1.45 lakh metric tonnes,” she maintained.

She also said that many officers were transferred in West Bengal by the ECI soon after the announcement of the polls. “People, money and drugs are being brought in, but our workers will fight it out and win,” she said. On migrant workers’ harassment in BJP-ruled states, Banerjee said: “You (PM Modi) cannot protect Bengal’s people in other states, but promise a ‘Sonar Bangla’ at rallies.” “You should dream of a ‘Sonar Bangla’ only after ensuring security for people of West Bengal in BJP-ruled states,” she said.