If voted to power, will put Ganga Sagar on int'l tourist circuit, promises Shah

Kolkata: Union Home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that he was confident that BJP will come to power in Bengal and when it does, Sagar Island will become a centre for international tourism and the Ganga Sagar Mela will be made part of the international tourist circuit.

Shah also assured that if voted to power in Bengal he would ensure 30 per cent reservation for women in the garment sector.

He visited the Kapil Muni Ashram at Sagar and offered puja. He also spent some time on the beach. "We will ensure that the Uttarayan Mela (Gangasagar Mela) becomes part of the international tourist circuit...this place becomes a big tourist spot, and its fame spreads across the world," he said after offering obeisance at the Kapil Muni temple.

Alleging that the Trinamool Congress government has introduced a "cut-money" culture and "syndicate raj" in Bengal, Shah the BJP's fight is to end it and take the state to the path of development if voted to power in the upcoming Assembly polls.

He added that the BJP's 'Parivartan Yatra' is not for changing a Chief Minister, an MLA or a minister but ending infiltration and transforming Bengal into a developed state.

"This 'Parivartan Yatra' is not for changing a CM, or a minister. It is for ending infiltration and also for the transformation of Bengal. You vote for the BJP. Leave alone illegal immigrants, not even a bird from across the border will be allowed to enter the state," Shah said addressing a rally.

The veteran BJP leader also slammed the TMC dispensation in the state for alleged corruption in disbursing 'Amphan' relief funds.

"The central government had sent relief funds after 'Amphan' cyclone, the money was siphoned off by the TMC leaders. If voted to power, we will probe into this corruption. We will form a task force for saving lives from cyclones and environmental disasters," Shah said. He also reached out to the state government employees and said that the 7th Pay Commission will be implemented in the state if the saffron party is voted to power.

"The financial condition of Bengal is so bad that the state government employees don't get the benefits of the 7th Pay Commission. If voted to power we would implement it in the state," he said.

Shah visited the headquarters of Bharat Sevasram Sangha (BSS) at Rashbehari and spent some time with the monks. In the evening he visited Aurobindo Bhavan on

Shakespeare Sarani.

Shah said the BSS will hopefully continue to move forward on the path it has travelled so far and pave the way for a new 'Hindustan'.

Paying obeisance to Bharat Sevashram Sangha founder Swami Pranavananda on his 125th birth anniversary, Shah told the monks that the organisation was formed at a time when it was most needed.

He also inaugurated a "paribartan rath" at Kakdwip on Thursday afternoon. The rath will visit all the constituencies of South Bengal. Shah visited the house of Subrata Biswas, a fish vendor and had lunch at his house. He was accompanied by BJP state president Dilip Ghosh and Rahul Sinha. In the evening he took part at a conclave at a star hotel in

central Kolkata.