West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh (File photo)
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday said Trinamool Congress’s “outsider jibes at the Opposition party may land Bengalis in other states in trouble.
Trinamool Congress leaders have targeted the BJP since the party deputed central leaders to the state in the run-up to next year’s Assembly polls.
“Gandhi ji was from outside Bengal, he was from Gujarat. Freedom fighters of Bengal never fought for only Bengal’s independence but of that of the country. Those who have lost the faith of people here are talking about outsiders. Is the prime minister an outsider? Is the home minister an outsider? When they visit other states like Tripura, Assam, UP and Jharkhand to fight [polls] they are not considered to be outsiders,†Ghosh said at a press conference at the party headquarters here.
He added, “Bengal has over 40 lakh people who are working in different states. No one there says they are outsiders there. They work and stay in different states. What will happen if people of those states say that they are outsiders? If they all are forced to return, will the government give them jobs here? Bengalis are not this narrow-minded. She [chief minister] is putting Bengalis working outside in danger. She is putting doubts about Bengalis in the minds of all others. It is unfortunate that such politics is happening.†The BJP leader demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into Thursday’s explosion at a plastic factory in Malda district. Six people were killed in the incident, with the BJP hinting at the involvement of extremist outfits.
“There have been so many incidents of explosions in Bengal. In Khagragarh, we have seen what happened. There, blood flowed in the drains. In Malda, six people have died. Even after the forensic team left the area today, there has been a small explosion at the site. People want to know the truth but the government is trying to suppress. Only a probe by a central agency like NIA will reveal the truth. NIA should probe the incident in Sujapur, Malda,†he added.
Ghosh had made a similar demand on Friday, claiming that “in most of these incidents, Bangladeshi SIMI and JMB links were establishedâ€. He pointed out that “recently al-Qaeda terrorists were arrested from Murshidabadâ€.
The BJP leader on Saturday reiterated that Bengal would follow the “Gujarat model of developmentâ€. He said lakhs of youths from the state were working in Gujarat because of a lack of employment opportunities here.
“I stand by what I said. We will make Bengal another Gujarat. Lakhs of youths from Bengal are staying in Gujarat and working there. There they have jobs in factories. Here, our industries have been destroyed. Left [Front] people used to say Gujarat is not safe for minorities and they were driven out of power here. Many minority youths are now working in Gujarat. Here, minority people are running behind TMC leaders to get a Kanyashree cycle, while minority people in Gujarat are riding cars. Gujarat is number one in the country in law and order. Bengal, on the other hand, has stopped giving its crime statistics to NCRB for the last two years because Bengal has become number one in crimes, including crimes against women,†Ghosh added.
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