BJP national president Nitin Nabin, while seeking to woo Bengali voters with an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections, recalled eminent Bengali personalities ranging from Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar to Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Uttam Kumar and Satyajit Ray, representing laurels from diverse fields.
He was addressing the gathering while inaugurating the ‘Kamal Mela’ at Rajiv Gandhi Maidan in the Steel City of Durgapur this evening.
The BJP has backed the Kamal Mela primarily to reach out to women voters, with pavilions showcasing women’s handicraft products forming a major attraction of the fair.
Describing Bengal as ‘Durgabhoomi’ ~ the land of Goddess Durga ~ Nabin said: “This sacred land needs to be purified and its lost glory must be restored. The BJP has to take this responsibility in the days to come.” He urged women voters to respond positively to the BJP’s call for a change of guard in the state this year.
Following Nitin Nabin’s address, singer Monali Thakur began her performance with the popular Bengali song, Bolo Bolo Dugga Bolo.
Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, sharpened his attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led government at the fair. He said: “At this Kamal Mela, we should take a pledge to uproot the misrule in Bengal, where the ruling government is trying to impose Arabic education. Class VII textbooks carry Arabic words such as aasman, pani and abba for sky, water and father instead of akash, jol and baba.”
He further alleged, “This government has closed 19,000 schools and 6,888 factories during its 15 years in power. Women of Bengali families should wake up and bring about a change in the government.”