Arambagh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a no-holds-barred attack against the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in West Bengal over atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali, and said that the entire country is seething with anger over the issue and asked people to defeat her in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Modi also criticised opposition bloc INDIA for keeping silent on the Sandeshkhali atrocities and likened their inaction to the “three monkeys” of Mahatma Gandhi. The monkeys symbolise the phrase ‘see no evil, talk no evil and hear no evil’.
Modi chastised the TMC and its leadership, accusing them of audacity and shamelessness in their treatment of women in Sandeshkhali.
Speaking at a rally in Arambagh, Hooghly district, he said, “The whole country is sad and is seething with anger after seeing what the TMC, which beats the drum of Maa, Mati, and Manush, has done to the sisters of Sandeshkhali.”
“The TMC leader crossed all limits of audacity with the sisters and daughters in Sandeshkhali. What TMC has done to the sisters of Sandeshkhali is a matter of shame,” he said.
Referring to Khanakul, the birthplace of 19th century social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, which was close to the venue of the public meeting, the Prime Minister said, “Even the soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy would be petrified after what has happened to the sisters and mothers of Sandeshkhali. His soul must be crying today. The TMC has to answer for the atrocities.”
Virtually sounding the bugle for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Modi urged the people of Bengal to respond to the wounds they were inflicted with by casting their votes.
“Will you forgive such a party, will you forgive TMC? You have to give reply to every pain that they have caused to you through your votes (Haar chot ka jawab vote se dena hain).”
The Sandeshkhali region, located on the fringes of the Sunderbans, has been engulfed in turmoil for over a month due to accusations against TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his cohorts of sexual abuse and land usurpation.
Sheikh was arrested by police on Thursday after being on the run for 55 days.
“The women of Sandeshkhali asked for help. And what do they get? The chief minister did everything she could to protect those culprits,” Modi said.
The PM claimed that it was on account of the BJP’s sustained leadership in galvanising protests that the state administration, “was forced to finally bow before the people of Sandeshkhali and arrest the prime accused who was absconding for nearly two months”.
Criticising the state administration for failing to arrest Shajahan for nearly two months after the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials during a raid at his residence on January 5, Modi said, “The fact that he remained absconding for nearly two months, someone must be there who must be protecting him.”
Hitting out at the opposition bloc INDIA, Modi questioned their stoic silence on the issue of atrocities in Sandeshkhali.
“For INDI alliance leaders, supporting the corrupt and appeasement politics are of prime importance rather than standing by those tortured by the TMC in Sandeshkhali. They have turned into three monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.”
“They are busy holding meetings in Patna, Bangalore, and Mumbai but seek no answers from the chief minister on Sandeshkhali. They did not bother to look at mothers and daughters of Sandeshkhali,” he said.
Modi accused Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge of insulting the people of Bengal by saying “Such incidents (like Sandeshkhali) do happen in Bengal. Is this not an insult to Bengal?”
Accusing the TMC of being “neck deep in corruption”, Modi mentioned the scams which had recently rocked the state in the domains of primary teachers’ recruitment, municipal body recruitment and the public distribution system.
“The TMC has created a new model of crime and corruption in Bengal. They have looted public money and have cheated the common people. The state government promotes corruption, and encourages crime and in exchange for protection to criminals. TMC leaders get huge sums of money. Hordes of cash being recovered from the homes of TMC leaders, we have never seen such things in movies too,” he said.
Modi declared that he guarantees that those who have looted public money and have deceived the poor will not be spared.
“It is Modi’s guarantee to you that those who have looted your money will have to go back to where they came from. They are angry with me as I am not going to spare them. Modi will not give up easily. Modi is not afraid of their abuse. In West Bengal, the central agencies cannot function freely, they sit on a dharna against the central agencies,” he declared.
The Prime Minister also accused the Mamata Banerjee government of stalling several central projects from getting implemented in the state and accused the “TMC government is a big obstacle in the empowerment of poor, farmers, youth and women. Unless these four classes are empowered, Bengal cannot develop.”
“The arrogance of the TMC will break soon. It is confident that it has the support of a particular group, but the Muslim women too will now throw them out,” Modi asserted.
The Bengal BJP unit has outlined an objective of securing more than 35 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. In the 2019 general elections, the saffron party had bagged 18 seats in the state.
