Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah yesterday accused the Trinamool Congress of being involved in the Saradha scam and terror activities, and said West Bengal has become a centre of anti-national acts under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Addressing his first rally here a day after being re-elected as the BJP president, Shah raked up the multi-billion rupee Saradha scam as well as the 2014 blast in Burdwan’s Khagragarh and the recent violence in Malda to hit out at Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party.
“While the world knows her as the chief minister of Bengal, those involved in the chit fund know her as a painter and they liked her painting so much that they bought it for crores of rupees.
“Mamata ji thinks people are gullible. But they know why your painting was bought at such a high price. It’s your nexus with the chit fund operators,” Shah said.
“Bengal, from where industry began, was the hub of the country’s economic activities, now all industries here have closed down but for one. Mamata ji, you have kept alive only the chit fund industry,” he said.
“Didi, 17 lakh families want to ask where the money from Saradha and Rose Valley have gone,” said Shah, referring to the two scams which ruined thousands of families, mostly from rural areas of West Bengal and neighbouring states.
Shah’s blistering attack comes just days after federal Home Minister and former BJP chief Rajnath Singh slammed Banerjee’s government, saying “none including police were safe in Bengal”.
While Rajnath Singh during his January 21 public rally was silent on the Saradha scam, Shah focused more on the financial issue that saw a huge war of words between the then BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Banerjee during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
Referring to the October 2, 2014, blast in Khagragarh, whose probe led to the busting of a terror module of Bangladeshi militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and other bomb explosions in the state, Shah wondered why there was a Trinamool link to all such incidents.
“Is this a coincidence that every time there is a blast here, be it Khagragarh, Birbhum or any place, the house or those killed have links to the Trinamool? Is this a coincidence? No. It is actually because your party is involved,” said Shah.
“Mamata ji, for the sake of vote-bank politics, you have turned Bengal into a centre of anti-national activities,” Shah said, describing the state as the gateway of entry of fake Indian currency notes.
Referring to several attacks on police, including the January 3 violence in Malda’s Kaliachak where a rampaging crowd attacked a police station and torched several vehicles, Shah claimed the morale of the force has hit rock bottom.
“Because of your vote-bank politics, the morale of the entire police force in the state has hit rock bottom,” said Shah, rubbishing Banerjee’s claims that the violence was a struggle between the Border Security Force and the locals.
Stating that the Trinamool government has failed in all aspects, Shah urged people to bring the BJP to power in the state to effect a real change.
“Instead of bringing in change, Mamata ji, you have taken Bengal only to the path of decline.”
Charging the Trinamool government with “rolling out the red carpet for the Bangladeshi infiltrators”, Shah said if the BJP came to power, “not a single infiltrator would dare to enter India”.
Blaming the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front and the now ruling Trinamool of taking West Bengal to destruction, Shah said only the BJP can usher in development as it pursued politics of development and nationality instead of indulging in vote-bank appeasement.

Congress is the most communal, says Netaji relative

IANS/Howrah


Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grand-nephew Chandra Kumar Bose yesterday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling it the only party which pursues politics of nationalism and believes in the freedom fighter’s ideals of inclusivity and communal harmony, while dubbing the Congress the “most communal” party.
The 55-year-old Bose, the grandson of Netaji’s elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, formally joined the BJP in the presence of its president Amit Shah at a public rally here.
Shah handed over the BJP flag to Bose amid cries of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and tumultuous applause from the crowd.
Bose, who studied Economics at Hendon College, London, pitched his lot with the BJP two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declassified 100 files related to Netaji on January 23.
Later, he said the perception of the BJP as communal was a “misconception”.
“The BJP is the only party in the country which pursues politics of nationalism and believes in Netaji’s ideals of inclusivity and communal harmony. And joining hands with the BJP, my job will be to bring these ideals into mainstream,” Bose said.
He called the Congress the “most communal” party.
“It’s a misconception that the BJP is communal, the most communal party is the Congress.
Asked why he did not join the All India Forward Bloc founded by Netaji, Bose said: “It has moved away from the ideals of Netaji and ruined Bengal for 34 years by joining hands with the CPM. It did nothing for declassifying the files.”