BJP will not rest till it uproots Mamata Banerjee’s TMC from Bengal, says Amit Shah | Kolkata - Hindustan Times
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BJP will not rest till it uproots Mamata Banerjee’s TMC from Bengal, says Amit Shah

May 05, 2022 07:51 PM IST

Union home minister Amit Shah was unsparing in his criticism of the Trinamool Congress government and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over infiltration, fuel prices in Bengal , corruption and nepotism.

KOLKATA: Back in West Bengal on his first visit after last year’s assembly elections, Union home minister and BJP leader Amit Shah on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not rest till it ends Trinamool Congress’s rule from Bengal and renewed his attacks on chief minister Mamata Banerjee over illegal infiltration.

Union home minister Amit Shah said (Twitter/BJP4India)
Union home minister Amit Shah said (Twitter/BJP4India)

Shah also explained why he hadn’t come to Bengal earlier. “I have stepped on Bengal’s soil after one year. I was waiting to see if Mamata Didi (elder sister) corrects herself. She has not,” Shah said at a rally in north Bengal’s Siliguri town, asking the crowd to applaud so loudly that it is heard in Kolkata where Banerjee was celebrating the first anniversary of her government’s third term. She was sworn in as chief minister on May 5 last year.

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At the rally, Amit Shah was unsparing in his criticism of the Trinamool Congress government and its leader Mamata Banerjee over infiltration, fuel prices in Bengal , corruption and nepotism.

“Mamata Banerjee wants illegal infiltration to continue while refugees languish. We will not let this happen. The TMC is spreading rumours about Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying it will not be enforced. I promise you today that once the corona pandemic ends, we will enforce it in Bengal. We will ensure that refugees from Bangladesh get Indian citizenship. It is a matter of months. It (CAA) was a reality, it is reality and it will be a reality,” Shah said at the rally in Siliguri town, reiterating the Centre’s stand on the citizenship law.

CAA, which was notified on December 12, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

Shah also targeted Mamata Banerjee over fuel prices in the state, saying petrol and diesel prices were higher in Bengal as compared to states ruled by the BJP because chief minister Mamata Banerjee wasn’t reducing the state’s share of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and local tax.

“Bengal is the only Indian state where the price of petrol is 115 per litre. In BJP-ruled states, the price is 105. The Bengal government charges 25% Value Added Tax (VAT) in addition to local state tax,” Shah said.

Shah said corruption, nepotism and political violence increased in Bengal after the 2021 assembly polls while development and welfare took a back seat.

He took a swipe at Banerjee for sending fact-finding teams to Uttar Pradesh after some crimes, a reference to a five-member TMC team that visited Prayagraj after the murder of five members of a family. “Did you send fact-finding teams to Birbhum where eight people were burnt alive (on March 21) or to Nadia where a minor girl was raped (in April)?” Shah asked.

Mamata Banerjee responded to the barrage of criticism in Kolkata. “It is the Centre that is increasing fuel prices every day. It is looting common people,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata. The Bengal government has refused to reduce VAT till the Centre brings down its central taxes and the state gets its pending GST dues.

Banerjee also rebutted Shah on CAA, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was misleading people by spreading incorrect information. “He comes and makes the same promise over and over again. I have said it (CAA) is not necessary because all Bengalis are Indian citizens,” Banerjee said.

And on Amit Shah’s barbs about Birbhum, Banerjee shot back: “He is not the home minister of Bengal. Law and order is a state subject. As India’s home minister, he should focus on the violence at Jahangirpuri in Delhi.”

BJP Lok Sabha member from Bongaon and union minister Thakur briefly met Shah when the home minister attended programmes of the Border Security Force (BSF) along the India-Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas district. Shah also launched a new surveillance and petrol vessel of the BSF.

On Friday morning, Shah will visit north Bengal’s Teen Bigha border along with BSF officials before flying back to Kolkata. After meeting state BJP leaders at a hotel, Shah is scheduled to attend a cultural event organised by the Union ministry of culture to celebrate the inclusion of Durga Puja in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The event will be held at the Victoria Memorial Hall.

Mamata Banerjee said it is because of her government that UNESCO gave the recognition. “BJP leaders had campaigned that we do not let people celebrate Durga Puja in Bengal.”

There was no confirmation from the BJP on reports that Shah may meet former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly over dinner at his Kolkata house on Friday.

“Anybody can have dinner anywhere. We should ask Sourav to treat him (Shah) with lots of mishti doi (sweet curd) and rasagolla (a popular sweetmeat),” quipped Banerjee.

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