BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh and other party leaders outside Raj Bhawan on Thursday. (Express Photo by Subham Dutta)
The BJP on Thursday took out a rally in Kolkata and put up a road blockade at Hazra crossing, demanding that NRC be implemented in West Bengal to drive out illegal citizens from the state. Leaders who took part in the rally, from south Kolkata’s Deshapriyo Park to Maidan area, also slammed the Trinamool Congress for protesting against the NRC implementation in Assam.
Addressing party workers, state BJP mahila morcha president Locket Chatterjee said, “Bangladeshi infiltrators are staying in West Bengal and the state government is doing nothing to drive them out. Instead, the ruling party is indulging in votebank politics to suit its interests. We want the NRC to be implemented here to drive out Bangladeshi infiltrators. These infiltrators are a threat to national security and are involved in illegal activities.”
She also asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to clarify whether she was with the people of the state. “She will have to make her stand clear whether she is with the people of Bengal or with infiltrators. We cannot let her continue with votebank politics,” Chatterjee added. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh later went to Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and request him to look into their demand.
“We have requested the Governor to look into our demand to implement NRC in West Bengal. We want to relieve the people of Bengal of infiltrators who have snatched their land, employment and food. We don’t want them to stay in Bengal and there is a need to implement NRC to achieve it,” Ghosh told reporters outside Raj Bhawan.
Reacting to his comments, Mamata dared the BJP to implement NRC in the state. “Who are they (BJP) and are they important? People do not know them. They are a bunch of hooligans who create riots and loot people. They are not sure about their own existence, yet they are talking about implementing NRC here. I dare them to do so,” she said outside Kolkata airport.
Meanwhile, the BJP also demanded that Paschimbanga should be the official name of the state instead of ‘Bangla’, which has been proposed by the state government. The party also submitted a memorandum to the Governor in this regard.