Suri, Apr 9 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a fierce attack on the ruling TMC, accusing it of lawlessness and unleashing "absolute jungle raj" by referring to the 2022 Bagtui massacre, in which around 10 women and children were burned alive in the Birbhum district.
Addressing an election rally at the district headquarters Suri, Modi intensified the BJP's strategy of highlighting infiltration, citing last week's siege of judicial officers in Malda to criticize the Mamata Banerjee administration and reiterate his determination to rid the country of "illegal immigrants."
"I stand before you today to make this promise: Once there is a change of government in the state following these elections, I will initiate a special investigation into those who facilitate infiltration in this state and put them behind bars," Modi declared.
"The Trinamool Congress' slogan of 'Maa-Mati-Manush' (mother, land, people) has become nothing more than empty rhetoric. While 'Ma' is crying and 'Manush' is living in fear of the TMC regime, the encroachment of land by infiltrators under the current dispensation has reached dangerous levels," he added.
Referring to the Bagtui killings in Rampurhat, not far from where the PM spoke, Modi said the incident was a testament to "TMC's maha jungle raj," which thrived on the unholy nexus of syndicates, mafia, and corrupt politicians.
"The cottage industry has been rapidly declining in West Bengal, but the TMC has turned crude bombs into a common sight in the state," the PM said.
Resuming his discourse on infiltration, Modi said that infiltrators were taking away jobs from locals by accepting work contracts for less money and forcing indigenous people to migrate.
He pledged that unauthorized entrants will be deported and their facilitators jailed after the BJP comes to power in Bengal.
"The entire nation has witnessed what happened during the Malda siege, where judicial officers were held hostage. They have established a reign of terror in this state, and the need of the hour is to free the people from this atmosphere of fear and intimidation," he said.
The PM referred to Birbhum as the land of many iconic national figures, which has remained a constant source of inspiration.
He mentioned that the region, which is home to many tribal communities, had felt the effects of the 19th-century Santhal rebellion against the British in adjacent Jharkhand.
"This land of 'baul' songs is now singing a song of change," he said.
Modi accused the TMC of insulting the Adivasis, alleging that the party's "arrogance" did not spare even the country's President, Droupadi Murmu, who represents the Dalit community.
"The Honourable President had come to attend a programme of the tribal communities in north Bengal. This Trinamool government did not grant her the necessary respect," he alleged.
Alleging that the TMC had stolen funds from the MGNREGA scheme to cheat the poor, marginalized, and Adivasi people of the state, Modi promised guaranteed employment for the economically weak and fresh assistance to farmers and fishermen.
"We will implement the VB-G RAM G scheme in Bengal and transfer money directly into the accounts of beneficiaries, where no middlemen can intervene for personal gain and syndicates," he said.