‘Modi acting more like BJP campaigner than PM’ | TMC rebuts Modi’s ‘Hindu minority’ jibe, fires salvo over ‘fake narrative’

Kolkata: Barely hours after PM Modi launched a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the Brigade Parade Ground on Saturday, alleging that the party had reduced Bengali Hindus to a minority by ignoring them as a vote bank, TMC leaders fired back, accusing him of weaving a “false narrative” and attempting to stoke political tension ahead of the crucial Bengal polls.

TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh hit back, asking if Modi or the BJP have any narrative other than Hindu-Muslim, India-Pakistan and crematoriums-burial grounds. Alleging that Modi was acting as a BJP campaigner rather than the PM, Ghosh said: “Modi has failed to attend Parliament and address MPs for days, he is attending BJP meetings and coming regularly to the state before elections. He is behaving more as a BJP campaigner than the PM of the country.” The PM, during his speech, said the demography has changed in many areas of Bengal in the past few years. The TMC is opposed to giving citizenship to Hindus because, for them, their vote bank is paramount.

Senior TMC leaders and Minister Bratya Basu alleged that Modi’s repeated references to “infiltrators”, “Bangladeshis” and Rohingya were unsubstantiated claims. “He failed to explain how many among the 58 lakh names missing from the electoral rolls were Rohingyas or Bangladeshis,” Basu said, accusing the BJP of trying to polarise voters. “PM’s speech reflected the BJP’s “divisive agenda” to pit communities against each other for electoral gains. He is acting more like a BJP leader peddling falsehood than a PM,” Basu said.

Slamming Modi’s inauguration of projects worth Rs 18,000 crore, Ghosh said: “Modiji has claimed he has sanctioned Rs 18,000 crore to Bengal as a ‘lollipop’. But in reality, he has blocked Rs 2 lakh-crore dues to the state for various projects, from the 100 days’ work scheme to housing for the poor and drinking water supply.”

TMC also accused Modi of building a “false narrative” about employment and the overall situation in Bengal. Rejecting Modi’s remarks on unemployment in the state, Ghosh said that West Bengal has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 3.7 per cent. She further alleged that the prime minister had ignored the concerns of farmers, noting that he did not visit the site of the farmers’ protest near New Delhi in 2022.

“The TMC government in West Bengal has provided a minimum support price for products like potatoes to help farmers avoid distress sales. His narrative about Bengal falls flat,” Ghosh added. After Modi slammed the TMC once again over the alleged protocol lapse at an event President Droupadi Murmu attended last week, Ghosh stated that Murmu had come for a political campaign. Ghosh asked why Murmu did not utter words when women were raped and paraded naked in Manipur. It did not cross Modi’s mind that they were also tribal women, Ghosh added.