TMC release ‘fact-check report’ of PM’s speeches, calls Sandeshkhali conspiracy to malign Bengal
KOLKATA, May 12: Accusing the Trinamool Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that “goons of the ruling party” were threatening the “tormented women” of Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have surfaced, to protect the culprits.
Modi alleged that under the TMC rule, Hindus have become “second-class citizens” in West Bengal and asserted that “as long as there is Modi, no one can repeal the CAA”.
Suggesting that the performance of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls would be at an all-time low, the prime minister claimed that the grand old party will get fewer seats than the age of its ‘shehzada’, in a dig at Rahul Gandhi who is in his early fifties.
“All of us have seen what the TMC has done to the sisters and mothers of Sandeshkhali. First, the police tried to save the culprits, now the TMC goons are threatening the sisters, just because the oppressor’s name is Shajahan Sheikh… They are trying to protect him from legal action. Don’t be afraid of TMC,” he said at an election rally in Barrackpore.
Addressing his second rally in Hooghly, Modi said, “TMC is using every trick in Sandeshkhali, but none of the oppressors will be spared.” His remarks come in the backdrop of multiple purported videos surfacing on social media that claimed that a local BJP party leader made several women of Sandeshkhali sign on blank papers which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault against TMC leaders. The PM, however, did not directly refer to those videos.
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of those videos.
Claiming that under the TMC regime, West Bengal has turned into a centre of “corruption” and a “cottage industry of bomb-making,” Modi alleged that the state’s ruling dispensation has surrendered to vote-bank politics.
“While Modi talks about water in every household, TMC talks about bombs in every household,” he said.
Referring to recent remarks attributed to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir in Murshidabad district, Modi said, “A TMC leader said they will throw Hindus into the Bhagirathi River… Where do they get the audacity to say such things?” “TMC has surrendered to vote-bank politics in West Bengal, where you cannot even mention the name of Lord Shri Ram or celebrate Ram Navami. Hindus have been become second-class citizens in West Bengal,” he alleged.
The PM slammed the opposition bloc INDIA and the Congress for “supporting” the “vote jihad” comments allegedly made by a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP), an ally of the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh.
Criticising the TMC for opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in West Bengal, Modi said, “CAA is a law to give citizenship to victims; it does not take away anyone’s citizenship. But parties like Congress and TMC have painted it with the colour of their lies.” In a bid to reach out to the Matua community, who are expected to benefit most from the law, he said, “As long as there is Modi, no one can repeal the CAA.” Mocking the grand old party, he said, “The Congress will get fewer seats in the Lok Sabha polls than the age of its ‘shehzada’. After three phases of polls, it can be said with certainty that the BJP-led NDA would win over 400 seats.” “This 400-plus seat target is no longer a slogan but a resolve of the nation. Neither can the TMC form the government, nor can it do anything in the opposition. The Congress and the Left too can’t form the government. Only the BJP-led NDA can provide you with a stable and strong government,” he said.
TMC’s Fact Check
TMC leader Derek O’Brien on Sunday tore into claims made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at poll rallies in West Bengal, saying two videos that have come out on the Sandeshkhali issue have exposed the “conspiracy to malign” the state.
On a day when Modi addressed four rallies in support of the BJP’s Lok Sabha poll candidates in West Bengal, O’Brien shared a fact-check report on X and called the prime minister the “Lyin King”.
“We often fact check Narendra Modi…. ‘The Lyin King’ just ended his third and fourth speeches. So much of deceit, falsehood and hate, that even our fact check meter broke down,” the TMC leader said in a post on the microblogging platform.
“Two Sandeshkhali videos exposed BJP’s conspiracy to malign Bengal and humiliate women. Concocted by Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikhari. Bribed and forced women to sign a blank paper and file false rape complaints. BJP shelters molesters: Brij Bhushan Singh, Prajwal Revanna. Unnao, Kathua, Hathras,” the document shared by O’Brien read.
Multiple videos have surfaced on social media, purportedly claiming that a local BJP leader made several women from Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal sign on blank papers that were subsequently filled up as sexual assault complaints against TMC leaders.
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos. Dismissing Modi’s claim of infrastructure development in eastern India, O’Brien said, “848 railway projects are delayed for over 3 years. PM Gramin Sadak Yojana-III has a completion rate of just 51 per cent. Of the 774 routes under UDAN-3, half could not initiate operation. Out of 44 projects in development, 31 projects had reportedly not received any funds for ports.” Taking a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, he said it has the “world’s largest washing machine”.
“BJP has the world’s largest washing machine. Praful Patel, Suvendu Adhikari, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Narayan Rane, Ajit Pawar, Ashok Chavan, Arjun Singh. 9 out of 10 opposition members who joined BJP got reprieve. (PTI)