Violence erupts after Shah rally in Bengal

CONTAI: BJP national president Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on “dynastic politics” in Delhi and Bengal from a rally in East Midnapore district’s Contai town on Tuesday that soon led to clashes between Trinamool and BJP supporters in which a TMC office was ransacked, vehicles ferrying BJP workers were set on fire and policemen were attacked.

Three persons were injured in the violence that erupted just minutes after Shah left the stage. A bike that was parked in front of a petrol pump — barely 100 meters away from the rally ground — was set on fire. Union home minister Rajnath Singh has sought a report on the violence from the state government.

“When the UPA ruled for 10 years, there were 2Gs — Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. During the 2G regime, there were scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. Now, Priyanka Gandhi has joined to make it 3G. They have continued with the dynastic politics since Jawaharlal Nehru’s days. It is the same in West Bengal where Mamata-ji and her nephew are running dynastic politics,” said Shah.

Terming both parties as two sides of the same coin, Shah said the time has come to “root out dynastic politics from the country”.

Shah alleged that the Rs 4-lakh crore the Centre had sent to Bengal for different schemes did not reach the poor. Syndicates have siphoned off the money the Centre had sent to the states. Many villages are yet to receive uninterrupted power supply,” he said. Shah harped on poverty in Bengal in the same vein, claiming that one in every five persons in the state is still living below poverty line.

Raking up corruption issues during the UPA regime, Shah said: “The country needs a government ruled by leaders and not by dealers.”

Taking a dig at the sales of paintings by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah alleged that her paintings were bought by the ponzi firm owners. “How much do you think a painting can fetch? Thousands or lakhs may be. But Mamataji's paintings were sold for crores. All such paintings were bought by chit fund walas,” he said. He alleged that the ponzi firm owners who bought the paintings enjoyed immunity in the state.

Blaming the Bengal government for renaming centrally-sponsored schemes and trying to take credit, the BJP president said, “The Centre sends the money for the Rs 2/kg rice that the poor people receive. Now, they are even depriving people by denying them healthcare facilities under centrally-sponsored schemes.”

“Before the elections (Assembly polls), TMC had promised to reopen 55,000 closed factories in the state. How many of them have been reopened? Instead, bomb-making units have mushroomed across the state,” he said. Pointing at the “growing infiltration” in Bengal, Shah said Trinamool must clarify its position on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. “If voted to power, we will make arrangements for refugees (Hindu refugees) in the state,” he added.

Claiming that BJP will win at least 23 Lok Sabha seats from Bengal, Shah said people were waiting for change. “If voted to power, we will take Bengal back to its old glory and create a Sonar Bangla under Narendra Modi’s leadership.” Slamming the Ponzi muddle in the state, Shah said Ponzi firms have looted at least 25 lakh poor investors. “We will return the money to the poor investors,” Shah said.

Reacting to the clashes, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said: “When our supporters were returning from the rally, they were attacked by TMC activists. This is a shame. We condemn it.”

Trinammol’s retort came quick. “BJP workers attacked our party offices and this led to retaliation by our workers. If our party office is attacked, are we going to offer sweets?” Suvendu, also the state transport minister, said. He alleged that BJP was trying to disturb peace and stability in the district.