On Friday, Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah addressed a large gathering of BJP supporters in Midnapore, amidst the political upheaval in the ruling Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal. Prior to his public address, former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari and legislators across party leaders joined the saffron party.
Amit Shah began his address, by seeking blessings from the land that has produced reformists such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and freedom fighters such as Khudiram Bose. The BJP leader lambasted the Trinamool Congress for accusing the saffron party of facilitating in defections. “What was your original party? You broke out from the Congress. Wasn’t this a form of defection?” he questioned.
Amit Shah said, “If Suvendu has stood up, against injustice, atrocities committed by TMC, today, then, you are quick to assume that this is a case of defection. This is just the beginning. By the time the elections come, Mamata Banerjee will be left alone in her party. She would have never anticipated this… Those who are joining us today started out with the slogan of ‘Maa, Maati, Maanush‘ (Mother, land, people) but you (Mamata Banerjee) changed it to ‘Tolabaaji, Tustikaran and Bhatijawad‘ (Extortion, appeasement and nepotism).”
Amit Shah exposes how TMC denied people of central govt scheme benefits
Amit Shah highlighted that the primary objective of Mamata Banerjee is to vacate her seat for her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. He pointed out that while farmers throughout India received cash benefits of ₹6,000 per annum, farmers in Bengali were denied the opportunity by the State government. Similarly, he stated that despite the implementation of Ayushman Bharat nationwide, the poor people of Bengal are denied health insurance of ₹5 lacs. “These schemes cannot be implemented in the State until the Trinamool Congress government is overthrown,” he reiterated.
Amit Shah lays roadmap for 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal
The Union Home Minister said that the real beneficiaries of government funds have been the goons of Trinamool Congress, who denied common people of their due share. Hitting out at the experts, he pointed out that those who believed that TMC was invisible got their answer in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “We will get more than 200 seats in Vidha Sabha,” Amit Shah assured his cadres.
Suvendu Adhikary explains the reason behind joining BJP
“Amit Shah used to love me like a brother. The party, (referring to TMC) for which I campaigned, gave my heart and soul for 21 years, did not check on me when I was infected with Coronavirus but Amit Shah did on two occasions,” Suvendu Adhikary expressed his gratitude.
While thanking BJP leader Mukul Roy, Suvendu said, “He used to tell me that if you have self-respect in you, then leave Trinamool Congress. We don’t seek anything from you. Join us (BJP) and we will treat you with respect. I am happy today that I could keep up to his word.”
Dismissing allegations of treachery by the Trinamool Congress, he reminded that the Mamata Banerjee-ruled TMC was supported, in its formative years, by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the BJP. He accused the party of being ungrateful and turning its back on its former ally BJP, despite the crucial role played by it. Hitting out at Banerjee for accusing of betraying his ‘mother’, he stated that the land of his birth is his mother and not any party or leader.
TMC hell-bent on destroying Bengal’s diversity, says Suvendu Adhikari
“The State government refused to implement the policies of the Central government. It changed the name of several Central government schemes so as to give the impression that the policies are it’s own. Bengal is a land of rich culture, heritage and pluralism. But TMC has been referring to BJP leaders (Amit Shah, Kailash Vijayvargiya,…, Amit Malviya) as ‘outsiders’. I have said this before but we are Indians first and then Bengalis. They want to destroy the diversity of Bengal,” he remarked.
Suvendu seeks help from PM Modi to save West Bengal
“I want the same government in Delhi and Kolkata. Else, Bengal will be over. The economy is destroyed. There are no jobs and the ones that exist have meagre pay. There is corruption everywhere. If Bengal needs to be saved, then PM Narendra Modi has to uplift the State. And I will get started, with this mission in mind, from tomorrow,” Suvendu emphasised.
Tolabaaj Bhaipo hatao, roars Suvendu in Midnapore
He narrated how a former TMC politician sent him an old video wherein, he yelled slogans of ‘BJP hatao, Bharat bachao‘ (Remove BJP from power and save this country). He clarified that he is an ardent party worker and his slogans only meant that he was loyal to his party. Suvendu informed his friend that he would address a large gathering of BJP supporters in Midnapore and raise slogans of ‘Tolabaaj Bhaipo hatao (referring to nephew of Mamata Banerjee, accused of being a part of extortion syndicate)’
10 MLAs from TMC, Congress and Left join BJP
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal is in a state of political turmoil, with several heavyweight lawmakers deserting the party. A long list of TMC leaders, along with 4 others from the Left and Congress, joined the BJP, in the presence of BJP leader Amit Shah in Midnapore. Several MLAs and party leaders from TMC, Congress and left parties joined BJP along with Adhikari. The major leaders who joined BJP in West Bengal are:
- Burdwan Purba MP Sunil Mandal, TMC
- Former minister and Tamluk MLA Suvendu Adhikari, TMC
- Kanthi Uttar MLA Banasri Maity, TMC
- Kalna MLA Biswajeet Kundu, TMC
- East Bardhaman MLA Saikat Panja, TMC
- Barrackpore MLA Shilbhadra Datta, TMC
- Ghazole MLA Dipali Biswas, TMC
- Nagrakata MLA Shukra Munda, TMC
- Tamluk MLA Ashok Dinda, CPI
- Haldia MLA Tapashi Mandal, CPIM
- Purulia MLA Sudeep Mukherjee, Congress
- Former MP Dasharath Tirkey, TMC
- Ex minister Shyamapada Mukherjee, TMC
- Former MLA Satyen Roy, TMC
Apart from these, several panchayat-level lawmakers and ardent followers of TMC MLA Suvendu Adhikary are also joining BJP. They include Kaberi Chattopadhyay, Snehashish Bhowmik, Akashdeep Singh, Tanmoy Roy, Ranjan Vaidya, Dev Mohapatra and Sukumar Das. The saffron party will also be joined by Congress leaders such as Sudip Kumar Mukherjee and Sanmay Banerjee. Former vice-chancellor of Gour Banga university Gopal Mishra also joined BJP today. A large number of politicians from TMC and other parties also joined the party.
