Kicking off his party’s Lok Sabha election campaign in West Bengal, BJP national president Amit Shah on Tuesday tore into TMC chief Mamata Banerjee for running a “corrupt, anti-people and murderous” government in the state and trying to remove Prime Minister Narendra Modi “by holding hands with 20-25 leaders”.
Addressing a public meeting as part of Ganatanatra Bachao Yatra at Habibpur in Malda district, Shah described the TMC’s United India rally — where 25 Opposition leaders shared the dais — as an alliance of lust and greed.
“What kind of alliance is this? It is all about lust and greed. They have only one agenda, which is to remove Modi. They did not say Bharat Mata Ki Jai or Vande Mataram. They only chanted Modi, Modi. Our agenda is clear. We want to remove poverty, corruption and unemployment. Mamata Banerjee must realise she cannot remove Modi by holding hands with 20 to 25 leaders. This alliance will not work. All they want is a majboor (helpless) government so that they can indulge in corruption. But we want a majboot (strong) government,” he said.
Taking a dig at those who attended the January 19 rally, he said that nine of them had aspirations to be PM. “There is a queue of Opposition leaders who want to be the next PM. But we have only one PM who has the support of hundred crore people.”
Vowing to uproot the TMC government, Shah said, “We have to take a pledge today to remove this undemocratic, corrupt, anti-people and murderous TMC government from power. This election will mark the beginning of the end for TMC in Bengal which has killed democracy and politicised the administration.”
About the Rath Yatras that were planned by the BJP in West Bengal, Shah said, “If you stop us from taking out Raths, we will take out rallies and hold meetings… If you do not let us land the chopper, then I will speak from the helicopter. The more you stop us and beat our workers, the more lotuses will bloom in Bengal.”
Shah was scheduled to flag off the Rath Yatras on December 7. However, the party failed to get a Supreme Court nod after a prolonged court battle. It was then decided that Shah would address public meetings instead. Ahead of Shah’s rally in Malda, the BJP alleged that the state government denied permission to land his chopper at the airstrip. Shah’s chopper landed at a private property near the venue, after which the rally was held.
Meanwhile, Shah, who had been diagnosed with swine flu on January 18, returned to Delhi in the evening after his health deteriorated. “At our advice and his doctor’s, he went back to Delhi and will not attend tomorrow’s rally (in Jhargram district),” said BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.
