KOLKATA: BJP’s national president JP Nadda on Saturday flagged off the party’s rath yatra from Nabadwip in Nadia and asserting that the people of Bengal have decided to say ‘goodbye’ to Mamata Banerjee-led government in the upcoming Assembly elections.
After having lunch with 30 farmers sitting in the same queue, Nadda hit out at Mamata Banerjee while addressing a rally in Malda before flagging off the rath yatra.
"You (Mamata) deprived Bengal’s 70 lakh farmers by barring PM Kishan Nidhi. Now, you are giving a nod to allow the central scheme in your state. You are repenting just before the elections after depriving the farmers of the benefits for two years. Bengal’s people will say goodbye in the 2021 Assembly elections," Nadda said in the rally.
He accused the Trinamool Congress-led government of politicising the administration and criminalising the police. "The Ma, Mati, Manush (mother, land, and people) slogan has been reduced to dictatorship, tolabaji (extortion), and appeasement. The ruling party has betrayed the trust that people had reposed in it. The ruling party’s leaders have secured their personal interests and benefits under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and the Centre’s financial assistance meant for cyclone Amphan victims were misappropriated," Nadda lashed out.
Referring to Mamata Banerjee’s anger that was conspicuous in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a central government’s event at the Victoria Memorial on the occasion of Netaji Jayanti (January 23), Nadda took a jibe at the Bengal CM saying, "Why does she hate Jay Shri Ram slogan so much? Is it wrong to connect with the culture of India? The TMC wants to ignore the country’s culture for the sake of vote-bank politics."
Irked by the Jay Shri Ram slogan, Mamata had refused to address the audience at the Victoria Memorial event.
On branding of BJP leaders from Delhi as outsiders by TMC, Nadda said the party’s Bengal functionaries will protect the culture of Bengal and steer it to progress.
"The Mamata Banerjee government has politicised the administration, criminalised the police, and institutionalised corruption," he alleged.
He later flagged off an improvised 'Rath' as part of the BJP's 'Parivartan Yatra' to bring about a change in West Bengal from Nabadwip, the birthplace of 15th-century saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He said Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate two of the other four such 'Rath Yatra' slated later this month.