New BJP chief accuses Mamata govt of endangering national security
Durgapur (WB), Jan 28: Stepping up its pre-poll offensive ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections, BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the TMC government, accusing it of endangering national security by patronising infiltration and intimidating voters during the SIR to malign the EC.
Addressing a public meeting in Durgapur on his first visit to the state after assuming the party’s top post, Nabin alleged a “deliberate attempt” by the ruling party to alter Bengal’s demography and “turn the state into Bangladesh”, warning that the issue posed a grave threat not only to West Bengal, but to the country as a whole.
“The TMC government has been patronising infiltration and protecting illegal voters, while intimidating genuine citizens. The TMC is endangering national security,” he alleged.
Targeting the Mamata Banerjee government over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the BJP president alleged that the ruling party was spreading misinformation and fear to derail a constitutionally mandated exercise.
“While the Election Commission (EC) is determined to identify and remove infiltrators and fake voters, the TMC government is creating panic among common people and trying to discredit the poll panel,” he said.
“People of Bengal should know that the EC is not harassing anyone. It is acting against those who have entered illegally and those whose names do not belong on the voters’ list,” he added.
Nabin alleged that the state administration was being misused to undermine the SIR process.
“It is not the EC, but the state machinery – DMs, SDOs and BDOs acting as puppets of the TMC government- that is intimidating citizens to malign a constitutional authority,” he claimed.
Placing the issue of demographic change in a historical context, Nabin invoked Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, asserting that Bengal existed in its present form because of his resistance to attempts to merge it with East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
“Bengal was saved because Mukherjee stood firm against those forces. Similar forces are active even today,” he said.
“Those who are not children of Bengal’s soil cannot claim rights here. BJP workers are ready to make any sacrifice, but we will not allow Bengal to be merged with Bangladesh. TMC is trying to turn Bengal into Bangladesh”.
Linking infiltration to the political battle ahead, Nabin accused Banerjee of “crying foul in Delhi” while presiding over misrule at home.
“Banerjee is questioning constitutional institutions in Delhi, but here in Bengal she has destroyed governance,” he alleged.
“This is a maha jungle raj where corruption has replaced administration and fear has replaced democracy.” Launching a broadside on corruption, the BJP president said, “Factories have been shut down, and factories of corruption have been opened.”
He alleged that several TMC ministers and leaders were either in jail or out on bail in recruitment-related scams.
“MLAs and ministers are openly collecting ‘TMC tax’,” he alleged.
On law and order, Nabin referred to a recent rape incident in the Durgapur region and accused the administration of attempting to shield the accused.
“When such incidents happen, the government’s response exposes its mindset,” he said. “When the chief minister asks why women were outside after 7 pm, it sends a dangerous message. The women of Bengal have always carried forward the culture of this land. They deserve safety, dignity and freedom not sermons.” (PTI)
