Union Home Minister Amit Shah on May 10 asserted that the Trinamool Congress stood for “tushtikaran (appeasement), mafia and corruption” while criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for “remaining silent” on the Sandeshkhali issue.
Addressing back-to-back rallies in Ranaghat and Birbhum Lok Sabha constituencies, Mr. Shah alleged that women of Sandeshkhali were “tortured on the basis of religion”, and mocked TMC's slogan ‘Maa Mati Manush’, saying it has now transformed into "mullah madrassa mafia" owing to the politics of appeasement.
Mr. Shah also accused Ms. Banerjee of "misleading" people on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and slammed the TMC dispensation over corruption-related issues in the State.
“TMC stands for ‘tushtikaran’ (appeasement), mafia and corruption. Mamata ji, you accord a red carpet welcome to infiltrators because they are your vote bank. But, you oppose citizenship to the Hindus, Sikhs... The people are going to give you a befitting reply," the Home Minister said.
“Mamata Banerjee became the Chief Minister by raising the slogan of ‘Maa Mati Manush’. But within no time, this slogan has changed to ‘mullah madrasa mafia’,” he said.
On the incidents in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, where allegations of sexual abuse against TMC leaders have surfaced, Mr. Shah said it is a matter of shame that "Mamata Banerjee, despite being a woman Chief Minister, tried to protect the culprits”.
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“In Sandeshkhali, TMC leaders tortured hundreds of our sisters, based on religion. Mamata didi was not ready to arrest the criminals. Even after the high court's order, the investigation was not conducted, and the court handed over the probe to the CBI,” the senior BJP leader said.
“Whoever has committed the atrocities in Sandeshkhali, even if he goes underground, we will find him and put him behind bars? The BJP will punish the culprits,” he asserted.
Mr. Shah said the atrocities in Sandeshkhali continued “for years, under the nose of Mamata Banerjee, as a leader of her party continued to oppress and exploit the women” in the riverine region.
“But, Mamata Banerjee did not catch the culprits of Sandeshkhali due to the politics of appeasement. She allowed the exploitation to go on for years because of her vote bank,” the Home Minister alleged.
His comments came in the backdrop of multiple purported videos of Sandeshkhali women shared by the TMC on Thursday, which claimed that a local saffron party leader made them sign on blank papers, which were later filled up as complaints of sexual assault.
Mr. Shah, while addressing a considerable Matua population in the Ranaghat Lok Sabha seat, attacked Ms. Banerjee for opposing the CAA and “taking out rallies in support of infiltrators”.
“Why is she against refugees obtaining citizenship? She is supporting infiltration in Bengal, but opposes Hindu refugees getting citizenship. She is taking out rallies against the CAA and supporting infiltrators,” he said.
“No one has the strength to tinker with the CAA. We will give citizenship to every single refugee, this is the promise of (PM) Narendra Modi ji,” asserted Mr. Shah.
Also Read | Trinamool vows to abolish CAA, stop UCC implementation
Ms. Banerjee had recently claimed that if the Opposition bloc INDIA comes to power, of which the TMC is a part at the national level, it would repeal the CAA by bringing in a new law in Parliament.
The Centre had in March implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.
Hitting out at the TMC on the issue of graft, Mr. Shah said only the BJP can end the TMC’s “rule of corruption” in West Bengal.
“A sum of ₹51 crore was recovered from the minister, who was responsible for giving jobs to the poor. This money doesn't belong to the minister, it belongs to the people of West Bengal,” Mr. Shah said, referring to Partha Chatterjee, who was arrested in connection with the school jobs scam.
“Mamata didi is criticising the CBI and ED for conducting raids in the State. We didn't ask them to conduct raids and investigations, it was ordered by the court,” he added.
The senior BJP leader said his party has set a target of winning 30-plus out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
"Give Modi ji more than 30 seats from Bengal, and we will end the ‘syndicate raj’ in the State,” he said.
Later in the evening, Mr. Shah took part in a roadshow in Asansol in support of BJP candidate S.S. Ahluwalia.
“You have had enough of atrocities of the TMC government led by Mamata Banerjee, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and other leaders. Let us work towards dislodging the regime," he said.
Meanwhile, the TMC was quick to hit back, dubbing Mr. Shah’s allegations baseless and politically motivated.
“Amit Shah Ji was speaking about Sandeshkhali, but why didn’t he utter a word about the videos that have gone viral? Why is he silent on it? And regarding graft, a number of people with allegations of corruption have joined the saffron camp,” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
