Campaigning for the BJP in Jalpaiguri, where voting for the Lok Sabha elections will take place in the first phase on April 19, Modi accused the TMC of trying to “crush the rule of law and constitutional norms to give a free hand to its corrupt and extortionist leaders”.
“The TMC wants its tolabaz (extortionists) and bhrastachari (corrupt) leaders to have a free hand to unleash terror. That’s why whenever Central agencies come here to conduct investigations, the TMC carries out attacks on them.
TMC is a party which wants to crush the rule of law and constitutional norms,” Modi alleged, referring to the attacks on the NIA team in Purba Medinipur on Saturday and an ED team in Sandeshkhali in January this year.
The attack on a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Purba Medinipur by a mob during the detention of two persons in connection with the 2022 Bhupatinagar blast had led to a war of words between the TMC and BJP.
Taking it forward, the Prime Minister on Sunday also accused the TMC of running a “syndicate raj” in the state and raise the Sandeshkhali episode where women had accused local TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh of sexual harassment and land grabbing after he went into hiding following ED raids on his house in North 24 Parganas in connection with a corruption case.
“You have seen what happened in Sandeshkhali. The entire country knows the kind of atrocities that took place on women there. But the situation has become such here that the court has to intervene (whenever such things take place). TMC’s syndicate raj prevails everywhere. People are forced to reel under TMC’s atrocities. Should not the culprits of Sandeshkhali be punished? Shouldn’t they be sent to jail? Shouldn’t those who were involved in teachers’ recruitment scam and ration scam be put behind bars,” Modi asked the crowd.
He also accused the TMC government, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of not implementing Central schemes in the state, calling her government “anti-poor, anti-Scheduled Castes and anti-tribals”.
“Here, the TMC government puts a brake on the implementation of Central schemes. About Rs 30,000 crore were sent to the state under the Awas Yojana. We said money should be sent directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. But the TMC says the money has to be given to the government. Can we let the TMC loot money meant for the poor?… The anti-poor, anti-ST, anti-SC TMC is not letting our schemes reach the beneficiaries. The anti-farmer TMC has also stopped the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme here… Therefore, there is a need to teach TMC a lesson in this election,” Modi said.
Notably, the TMC government has been protesting against the Modi government at the Centre for not paying the Central scheme funds to West Bengal for the past two years.
Reiterating his claim that he would try to find a way to “return Rs 3,000 crore, seized by the ED in its several probes in West Bengal, to the people of the state, Modi said: “The ED has attached properties worth Rs 3,000 of these perpetrators (of scams). I am taking advice on how to return this Rs 3,000 to people who lost their money due to the scams… Proceedings against the corrupt leaders will speed up after June 4 (the counting day),” Modi said.
The PM had made the same claim in his conversation with a BJP candidate last week, leading to the TMC complaining to the Election Commission against Modi, alleging that the Prime Minister was trying to bribe people and it was against the model code of conduct currently in force in the entire country.
In his campaign speech, Modi also slammed the Congress over Kashmir. “For the Congress, Kashmir has no value. But for us, Kashmir is the head of Maa Bharti. Despite being born in West Bengal, (Syama Prasad) Mookerjee worked and eventually gave his life to make Kashmir a part of the country. Congress says Kashmir se baki desh se kya lena dena hain (what the rest of the country has to do with Kashmir). For us, Kashmir is as important as other parts of the country… If Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee was not there, the Congress would have surrendered before the separatists,” Modi said.
“Modi gives guarantee and the Congress gives gaali (abuse),” he added.
Modi also said that a stable government was needed at the Centre “to take the country to new heights”. “This is not an election to elect an MP but to elect a stable government at the Centre. The more stable the government is, the more the world will have faith in the country. The more investments will come, more tourists will arrive, more employment will be generated and the country’s image will be built… I am working 24/7 for 2047. You supported me, and I decided to transform the landscape of India. What you have seen in the last 10 years is just a trailer… This is our promise to build Viksit Bharat,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also offered his sympathy to the people who were affected in recent storms in Jalpaiguri district. “Some days ago, large-scale devastation took place in Jalpaiguri district due to a natural calamity. I offer my sympathy to all those who lost their family members and houses in the storm,” he said.
This was Modi’s second election rally in West Bengal after Lok Sabha notification was issued on March 16. The first being at Cooch Behar district on April 4.