NEW DELHI: Kolkata BJP’s national president JP Nadda flagged off the party’s Parivartan Yatra from the historic town of Nabadwip in Nadia district on Saturday. He asserted that people of Bengal will say ‘goodbye’ to Mamata Banerjee’s government in the upcoming Assembly elections. N adda had lunch with 30 farmers, sitting with them in the same queue. It is seen as an initiative to showcase BJP as peasant-friendly, at a time when farmers in northern India are protesting against farm laws. However, Nadda made clear that his party’s main ploy before the elections is to run down Mamata Banerjee.
“You (Mamata) deprived Bengal’s 70 lakh farmers by barring the PM Kishan Nidhi. Now, you are giving a nod to allow the central scheme in your state. You are repenting just before the elections and after depriving the farmers for two years. Bengal’s people will say goodbye to you,’’ Nadda said. N adda flagged off an improvised ‘rath’ or chariot as part of the Parivartan Yatra which will travel across four districts in south Bengal.
There will be four more such yatras from different organisational zones of the party covering all 23 districts of the state. Nadda said Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off another yatra in the north Bengal region later this month. He accused the Trinamool Congress 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 people had reposed in it. Their leaders have secured 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. BJP leaders seldom miss an opportunity to attack Mamata on her alleged strategy of minority appeasement.
“Why does she hate the Jai Shri Ram slogan so much? Is it wrong to connect with the culture of India? TMC wants to ignore the country’s culture for the sake of vote-bank politics.’’ Irked by the slogan, Mamata had refused to address the audience in an event to commemorate Netaji’s birthday in Kolkata last month.