Coming to power in Bengal a distant dream, TMC tells BJP
Kolkata: Even as Bengal reels under the spread of COVID-19 and the devastating Amphan aftermath, relentless efforts by the BJP seem to be a constant in the state government's efforts to combat the double whammy.
Reacting sharply to Union Home minister Amit Shah's virtual rally where he spoke about setting up of 'Sonar Bangla' if voted to power, the top TMC leadership on Thursday maintained that it was a distant dream of the BJP. The leaders accused Shah of practising divisive politics to achieve narrow political ends.
Partha Chatterjee, TMC Secretary-General, said: "The people of Bengal had received a major shock when BJP supporters damaged the statue of Vidyasagar during Amit Shah's rally before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mamata Banerjee had installed a new one. Time has come when we should uphold the culture and tradition of Raja Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das that speak of unity in diversity and social harmony. We do not want that culture which teaches division among people and religion."
Samir Chakraborty, party MLA, added it is "most unfortunate that when Mamata Banerjee is working day and night to give relief to the people during COVID-19 pandemic and the large-scale Amphan disaster, BJP is doing politics at this critical hour and dreaming to conquer Bengal."
He said before the Rajya Sabha elections BJP has "started horse-trading to woo Congress MPs and making attempts to topple the state government in Rajasthan. The Madhya Pradesh government was sworn in on March 23, just a day before the nationwide lockdown was announced. BJP does not care about the people, its sole business is to win elections by any means," he said adding: "In Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, BJP has come to power with the help of allies and everywhere it has played a nasty political game."
Remarking on the saffron party's allegation that workers from Bengal go to other states for jobs as they do not get an opportunity here, Chakraborty said Shah's statement at the virtual meeting tells a different story. "Shah had said that 1700 and 1200 trains were deployed to bring the migrant workers o Uttar Pradesh and Bihar while in Bengal they were brought in through only 232 trains. It shows that in UP and Bihar, jobs are not available for their people."
Demolishing Amit Shah's statement that 'Ayushman Bharat' would be implemented in Bengal within a minute after BJP comes to power here, state Forest minister Rajib Banerjee said: "It means that the facility of getting free medical treatment in state-run hospitals across the state will wither away. While the 'Ayushman Bharat' talks about giving medical facilities to 1.12 crore families, under the Swastha Sathi project, 1.50 crore families have been given the benefit already," he said.
He said under the Krishi Samman, five crore marginal farmers have been given benefits and the next of kin of those who die would get Rs 2 lakh. "Mamata Banerjee has always looked after the poor farmers whereas in the BJP-ruled states, the highest number of farmers had committed suicide."
