AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday criticised the deployment of security forces in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections, calling it an “insult to the people of the state,” while addressing a rally in Ballygunge in support of TMC candidate Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, according to the speech he delivered.
Kejriwal questioned the scale of security arrangements in the state, saying a large deployment of personnel was unnecessary. “The military has been called here from all over the country. What is the need for this? Are the people of Bengal terrorists? This is an insult to the people of Bengal. 3.5 lakh military personnel have been deployed in Bengal. What are they afraid of?” he said.
He also alleged that a large number of voters had been removed from the electoral rolls under what he described as a “BJP-EC conspiracy,” claiming 27 lakh names were deleted during the SIR exercise. He suggested the move was aimed at affecting citizenship-related documents and urged those impacted to support the Trinamool Congress.
“Go and tell your friends, relatives and neighbours to vote for TMC candidates in this election. Didi has to win this fight against the BJP, which wants to take away your citizenship rights as part of a bigger game plan to win the polls,” he said.
Kejriwal further alleged that people from BJP-ruled states were being brought in to influence the electoral process and repeated claims of fake voter entries in the list. “In the voter list, they have made fake voters, and from across all states, they are bringing thousands of fake voters to vote here in Bengal. Modi wants to win elections like this,” he said.
Referring to his own legal troubles, he said he had been jailed in a corruption case that was later dismissed by the court. “A year ago, they filed a corruption case against me and put me in jail for six months. After a year, the court said there was not a shred of evidence against the fabricated charges,” he said, urging voters to reject “vendetta politics.”
He also warned that welfare measures would be affected if the central government came to power in the state, and accused the BJP of failing to fulfil promises made during previous elections.
“PM Modi has three friends -- ED, CBI and Gyanesh Kumar,” he added, targeting the Centre over alleged misuse of investigative agencies.
Praising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kejriwal said she was facing political pressure but would prevail. “Everyone is after her -- the ED, the CBI, the Central Forces, Modi ji… and yet she wins. She will win because Kali Maa's blessings are with her,” he said.
West Bengal is witnessing multi-phase polling, with the first phase recording a turnout of 92.35% on April 23 amid tight security arrangements. The second phase is scheduled for April 29, while counting of votes will take place on May 4.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)