Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the Left for spending money to spread canards against her Government even as she landed at Sandeshkhali for the first time after the all-women movement against land grab and mass rape that hit the national headlines last year.
Some "mischievous" people had been playing "a game of money and money only… they were intentionally misleading the people of this area ... But as lies cannot last forever they have failed in their dirty mission and the people of Sandeshkhali particularly the women have come in large number to this meeting," Banerjee told a massive gathering even as she promised a number of projects.
"I request the people of Sandeshkhali not to fall in the trap of the mischievous people … the BJP has plenty of money and they spend these in misinformation campaign … my message is to the mothers and sisters of Sandeshkhali to avoid those bad people … you could see things
With your eyes how some people resorted to disinformation but finally nothing came out … please don't go anywhere if someone asks you to. It's your right to get the benefits of Government schemes," Banerjee said asking the women not to go anywhere. "The Government will come at your doorstep with Duare Sarkar," one of her patent schemes via which the Government functionaries hold regional camps to address people's problems.
Sandeshkhali hit the national headlines for several weeks last year when the local women came out in hordes against strong arm tactics of local Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjehan whose men allegedly physically exploited women and grabbed their lands to convert them into fisheries.
Post Sandeshkhali incident the State Government was repeatedly indicted by the National Commissions for Women and Scheduled Tribes. Subsequently Shahjehan, also accused of other crimes like multi-crore ration scam --- along with the jailed Food Minister Jyotipriya Mullick --- was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation and has since been in jail.
While there was a common refrain among the people against the Chief Minister for not visiting once this Sunderbans islands in North 24 Parganas off Basirhat, Banerjee's visit tended to impact the local women many of whom said they were willing to once again repose faith in her. This even as Banerjee asked the people to forget and leave behind the past incidents and move forward. "I want you to forget all that is past and proceed forwards … I want Sandeshkhali to tank among the best … a girl from Sandeshkhali to top the board exams… someone from here to become an IPS or IAS officer… This is not a place for riots and violence. We want peace," Banerjee said before announcing a plethora of Government projects.
Even as the locals requested the construction of a bridge joining the riverine islands with the mainland Banerjee said, "infrastructure projects like bridges require significant funding. I am noting your request, but we need to arrange the necessary resources… as you all know that the Centre provides us with nothing… they have stopped all the funds for rural development and I have to manage from my own resources."
Aware that the Left had been quite active in the region Banerjee attacked the CPI(M) too saying, "BJP and Left have joined hands to malign the Government … while the BJP spends their ill-gotten money to mislead the people and ignite violence the CPI(M) is a party that talks big having forgotten their bloody past … they are a party of skeletons that killed people and buried them … so never believe them."
Reacting to Banerjee's charges local face of the movement Rekha Patra who even unsuccessfully contested on a BJP ticket in this year's parliamentary elections said, "Didi has missed the bus … the people who have come … have been forcibly brought here … had she come the last year when the women were in trouble they would have definitely hugged her … but now they hate her and she will never be welcome here."
