Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused West Bengal's ruling Trinamul Congress of running a "policy of scams'' which he claimed has left the people of the state in peril.
Mr. Modi, who addressed a Lok Sabha Election campaign rally in Malda of North Bengal amid the second phase of the polls, was so impressed to see the enthusiasm of the BJP workers at the venue that he assumed Bengal was either his previous birthplace or would be the next one.
Lashing out at chief minister Mamata Banerjee's party in a blistering attack, the PM alleged, “In Bengal under the TMC-rule, only one policy exists which is about scams of thousands of crores– Saradha chit fund scam, Rose Valley chit fund scam, cattle smuggling scam, municipal recruitment scam, ration scam, coal smuggling scam.”
He claimed, *While the TMC masterminds the scams, it is the people of Bengal who suffer from it. No work happens without a cut or commission in Bengal. They did not even spare the farmers.”
Mr Modi then pointed out the huge School Service Commission scam in which the Calcutta High Court recently terminated nearly 26,000 state education department employees' jobs for corruption in their recruitment.
He argued, “TMC has continuously played with the future of the young generation of Bengal. It orchestrated such a big education scam that the earnings of nearly 26,000 families have ended. These affected people had made loans to pay money to TMC leaders (to get the jobs). Now it has created a monumental burden on them. On the other hand, it is the BJP at the central government which is giving jobs to people efficiently.”
As the crowd erupted in joy with Mr Modi's stinging remarks on the TMC, the PM told them, “I am deeply grateful for your enthusiasm and love. You are giving so much love that it appears to me either I was born in Bengal in my previous birth or I will be born in the womb of a mother in Bengal in my next birth. Probably, no one gets this much love."
He once again raised Ms Banerjee's fierce opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act and her party's support to infiltration and politics of appeasement to maintain its minority vote bank.
To woo the voters, the PM later said, *The mangoes and makhana produced by the farmers of Malda are world-famous. We will set up a food processing industry which will help increase the income of the farmers.” The CM also retaliated to him on the termination of jobs in the SSC scam.
Campaigning for TMC candidate Dev at Ghatal, she told a rally, "You heard about maneater tigers. But did you hear about the job-eater BJP? Did you see the joy the leaders of the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress leaders face after so many people lost their jobs after the court order?”
Ms Banerjee said, "I do not want to comment on the judgment or the judges. But you are asking people to return their salary along with 12% interest after taking away their jobs! Can you snatch jobs like that? Give them a chance to rectify. How can 26,000 people be treated in such a way? The people of Bengal will not forgive these parties for their roles. They also filed PILs in the court and stalled any new initiative by the state government to fix the anomalies.”
