Addressing a public meeting in Barrackpore in support of BJP candidate Arjun Singh, PM Modi said, “The entire country has seen that happened in Sandeshkhali. First, the TMC tried to protect the accused with police help. The TMC has now started a new game. Their goons are terrorising and threatening the women there because the perpetrator’s name is Sheikh Shahjahan. Even arms and ammunition have been recovered from his house. The TMC is trying to protect the culprit to appease its vote bank. But the people have understood their game.”
Barrackpore is among the seven seats in West Bengal that will be contested in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on May 20. Modi’s comments came in the backdrop of a woman from Sandeshkhali saying the BJP forced her to lodge a false rape complaint against TMC leaders.
Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district saw widespread protests in February as residents accused TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and his aides of land grabbing and sexually harassing local women. Sheikh, who was on the run for 55 days after his supporters attacked an Enforcement Directorate (ED) out to search his Sandeshkhali home in connection with a ration scam, was arrested on February 29.
Asserting that strong action will be taken against those who have indulged in corruption, PM Modi said, “The TMC has turned Bengal into a den of corruption…. People in Bengal have come up with ‘chor dhoro jail bharo’ (arrest the thieves, put them in jail) slogan… The recent CAG report said that the West Bengal government could not provide utilisation certificates for Rs 230,000 crore. Where did this money go, and into whose pockets? But they will have to give account to every penny. Not a single person who indulged in corruption will be spared.”
PM Modi said the TMC turned Hindus second-class citizens in the state and claimed that TMC is indulging in appeasement politics to protect its vote-bank in Bengal.
“An MLA of TMC gave a statement yesterday that they will throw Hindus in Bhagirathi (river). Hindus have become second-class citizens in Bengal. TMC does not let anyone take Ram’s name. It doesn’t allow Ram Navami processions in Bengal,” said Modi.