“TMC played with the lives of the youths in Bengal. About 26,000 people lost their livelihoods due to the massive recruitment scam. Those, who took loans and gave it to the TMC (to get jobs), are on the roads now. It is the BJP government at the Centre which is providing jobs to the youths,” Modi said.
The PM’s remarks come days after the Calcutta High Court ordered the cancellation of appointments of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made through the recruitment process of State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) in government-sponsored and aided schools in Bengal. The court had also directed that a section of those recruits will have to return salaries drawn by them along with 12 per cent per annum interest.
“There was a time when Bengal used to be an example in the country in terms of social, economical and cultural development. First, the Left Front then the TMC stalled Bengal’s development. Under the TMC rule, scams worth rupees thousands of crores have taken place in Bengal. From Sarada chit fund, Rose Valley chit fund to the recruitment and ration distribution scam, the TMC has indulged in corruption everywhere. Nothing works in Bengal without a cut and commission (to the TMC),” he said.
“The TMC does not waste an opportunity to loot people’s money. They amassed central funds meant for the development of the people in Bengal. They stopped the implementation of central schemes in the state. The TMC does not care about the welfare of the people. They also don’t want Vande Bharat trains to run in Bengal,” he added. The PM also accused the TMC of “betraying the trust women” in the state by opposing the Triple Talaq Bill. “The TMC, which came to power by talking about Maa-Mati-Manush, has committed the biggest betrayal against the women here. When the BJP government abolished triple talaq to protect Muslim sisters from atrocities, TMC opposed it,” he said.
Referring to recent incidents in Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual harassment and land theft against TMC leaders have surfaced, Modi criticised the state government for its alleged apathy towards the victims. “So many atrocities were committed against women in Sandeshkhali and the TMC government kept protecting the main accused till the end,” he said.
Hitting out at the Congress and the TMC for spreading canards about CAA, Modi said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act “is about granting citizenship and not snatching it.” “The Congress and the TMC to appease their vote-bank politics are opposing the CAA. Why are they opposing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist refugees, who were forced to leave their land due to religious persecution, from getting citizenship? The CAA is about granting citizenship and not snatching it,” he said. Seizing on Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks amid the row on the issue of wealth redistribution, Modi said, “The Congress and the INDI alliance are planning to take the wealth that you have accumulated by working hard and enduring hardships. Even the mangalsutra of the poor and Dalit woman will not be spared.”
Modi, while questioning the TMC’s stand on the issue, said both the parties have now engaged in competition over appeasement politics.
“The Congress wants to grab your property, and the TMC is not uttering even a single word against this. There is a competition of appeasement going on between these two parties. The TMC government is working to settle Bangladeshi infiltrators in Bengal, and Congress is talking about distributing your assets among those,” he said.
The PM said the “biggest magnet” to keep TMC and Congress together is appeasement. “For the sake of appeasement, these parties can go to any level and can reverse every decision taken in national interest,” he said. The Prime Minister’s remark accusing the TMC of indulging in corruption drew sharp reactions from the state’s ruling party. “The PM is making baseless allegations against the TMC. We are fighting to ensure that those who are eligible don’t lose their jobs. He was speaking of corruption, but the BJP shelters corrupt people,” TMC leader Santanu Sen said. – With PTI