Onda/Chhatna (WB), April 11 Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of using the "victim card" to gain sympathy votes and asserted that she had pushed the state towards destruction during her 15-year rule.
Addressing rallies in Chhatna and Onda in Bankura district and Baghmundi in Purulia, Shah said the BJP would end the TMC’s "syndicate raj" if elected and ensure justice for women facing atrocities.
"Banerjee plays the victim card. Sometimes, she wears a bandage on her leg or head. This time, even if you wear a bandage on your leg, head or hand, the people of Bengal will not vote for you," he claimed.
During the eight-phase 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal, the TMC chief campaigned in a wheelchair with a plaster on her leg following an injury while canvassing at Nandigram.
"Banerjee has pushed Bengal towards ruin; 7,000 industries have left the state," he said in Purulia district, adding that young people are forced to seek work in other states.
Shah said that after the BJP forms the government in Bengal, youth will get jobs within the state, and until they find employment, they will be given Rs 3,000 per month.
He asserted that the BJP will work towards making Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s dream of "Sonar Bangla" come true.
"We will work towards bringing Bengal's lost glory under the leadership of Narendra Modi," Shah said.
Accusing the TMC of spreading the tentacles of "syndicate raj" and the practice of demanding "cut money" in every sphere, the BJP leader alleged that "goondas and infiltrators rule the roost".
"We will end the 'syndicate raj' of the TMC after winning the elections. The time has come to say 'goodbye to Hirak Rani'," he said, while addressing a rally at Onda.
Shah was referring to Satyajit Ray's classic 'Hirak Rajar Deshe' (The Kingdom of Diamonds), released in 1980. The movie, starring Utpal Dutt and Soumitra Chatterjee, is about a king who is an autocrat and tortures dissenters and his people.
Shah alleged that one has to "pay cut money to the ruling party or go through syndicates for everything in the state, from buying cement to sand".
He claimed that while Banerjee asked women not to venture out at night, a girl in BJP-ruled Assam can move out wearing gold ornaments even at 1 am without fear.
"A BJP government will ensure round-the-clock security for women in Bengal," he said.
Maintaining that the rape-murder of an on-duty doctor in state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital brought shame to Bengal, he claimed that women in the state’s Sandeshkhali suffered atrocities for years at the hands of TMC goons.
"All those involved in atrocities on women during Banerjee’s rule will be brought to justice," Shah asserted.
He also assured potato farmers that their produce will be sent across India, so that they get remunerative prices.
The state government had earlier imposed restrictions on selling potatoes to other states.
Shah also stated that infiltrators will be thrown out once the BJP comes to power in the state.
"India is not a 'dharamshala' (free guest house), and infiltrators who pose a threat to the country will be thrown out," Shah said.
He claimed that over 300 BJP workers had been killed in political violence in the state and assured action against those responsible.
Asserting that the Election Commission has made adequate arrangements for free and fair polls, he warned against any attempt to disrupt the process.
"We will ensure no TMC goon engages in mischief during the elections," he said.
Elections to the 294-member assembly will be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.
He alleged that allotment of ration provided by the Modi government is not reaching poor people due to siphoning by middlemen.
"We will introduce a thumb impression system to ensure not a single gram of foodgrain goes to the hands of TMC's goons," he said.
Stating that no person from the Adivasi community had ever been appointed President before, he said the Modi government made Droupadi Murmu India's first Adivasi President.
"Mamata Banerjee insulted Murmu when she came to the state for an Adivasi programme," he said, appealing to the Adivasis in Bengal to avenge this by way of defeating Banerjee in the elections.
Shah said the BJP has decided to include Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution as soon as the saffron party forms a government in Bengal.
"Rajbangshi and Kurmali are important languages of Bengal, Assam and Jharkhand," he said.
Paying his respects to social reformer and educationist Jyotiba Phule on his 200th birth anniversary, Shah said that the central government has decided to bring several projects for the welfare of backward and Adivasi people of the country.
He said that the BJP will ensure that infiltrators are evicted once it comes to power in Bengal. He claimed that the BSF has been asking for land at the Indo-Bangladesh border to erect barbed fences, but the Banerjee government has denied this for the last 15 years.
"BJP has decided to give land for fencing to the BSF within 45 days of coming to power in the state for stopping infiltration," Shah said.
Claiming that Mamata Banerjee has not done anything in the last 15 years except preparing the ground for making "her nephew" the chief minister of the state, Shah said, "I want to tell her today that bhaipo (nephew) will never be able to become the chief minister; your time is complete."
