Invoking the Bengali pride over achievements in fields of culture and education, BJP president J P Nadda on Monday said that to restore Bengal’s former glory, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) must be ousted from power in the state. Nadda was addressing a virtual rally for Bengal on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
He said that while Mookerjee never compromised his ideology for power, the TMC government is desperately trying to cling to power at any cost.
He further alleged that to scuttle BJP’s growth in Bengal, the TMC government is restoring to means such as slapping false cases on BJP leaders and keeping them under house arrest.
“Utter criminalisation of politics has taken place in Bengal. These days we are hearing about cut money (bribe to access government services). We have to cut down these leaders to size who take cut money. The TMC government must be removed lock stock and barrel to restore Bengal’s former glory,” said Nadda.
Lashing out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the BJP president said that unlike Mookerjee whose activities were a unique blend of regional aspiration along with commitment to the integrity and unity of India, she has failed to fulfill both.
Nadda alleged Mamata has failed to fulfill regional aspiration by not allowing Centre’s Ayushman Bharat to be implemented in Bengal and is also acting against the spirit of cooperative federalism by not sharing Covid-19 data with the Centre.
The BJP president further alleged that while Mookerjee led Bengal to new heights in terms of education, under the TMC government, education has taken a “nose dive” in the state.
“The situation in Bengal today has become as such that what kind of education one will get will depend on which party one votes for,” said Nadda.
Praising Mookerjee for his “opposition to the appeasement politics” of Jawaharlal Nehru, the BJP president said that now they can celebrate his birth anniversary with the pride and satisfaction of fulfilling his dream of abrogating Article 370.
Nadda lauded Mookerjee’s contribution to the nation and said it was to the credit of the Jan Sangh founder, West Bengal and large parts of Punjab remained with India during partition.