Even as the election temperatures soared keeping pace with record-breaking heat, war of words intensified between Amit Shah and Mamata Banerjee with the Union Home Minister on Tuesday holding the Bengal Chief Minister guilty of facilitating the infiltrators that comprise her vote banks by default and allowing the Central funds meant for the poor people to be siphoned away to private coffers.
The Bengal Chief Minister promptly hit back asking Shah to prove his charges or do a public penance for spreading disinformation.
“The Home Minister has said that we have not sent utilization certificate for the money sent by the Centre … which is why they have stopped our funds … I challenged Amit Shah to prove his point or do a public penance,” Banerjee said quoting a Comptroller and Auditor General which has said that 32 departments of the Centre too had not sent their utilization certificates.
“You are accusing us despite we have sent our reports but what about 32 departments of the central Government which according to the CAG has not sent utilization certificates worth Rs 72,000 crore,” Banerjee said.
Referring to Shah’s allegation that Banerjee was peddling lies against the Citizenship Amendment Act because she wanted to promote her vote bank politics the Chief Minister said,
“giving vote to the BJP means inviting CAA, NRC and Uniform Civil Code which will finish the identity of the dalits, OBCs, minorities and many sub sects of the Hindu religion … but I will not allow this to happen.”
Earlier Shah said that “Mamata didi is opposing the CAA which is for giving citizenship to the Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jains etc who have come from the neighbouring countries … where is the harm if these people get citizenship … she is doing so to because she does not want to offend her vote bank of infiltrators … but I am saying it loud and clear that CAA will be implemented whatever she does.”
While Shah was addressing a rally at East Burdwan , Banerjee was speaking at a meeting at Harishchandrapur in North Malda. While the Burdwan seat is held by the TMC, the BJP won North Malda seat in 2019.
Raising the Sandeshkhali issue once again Shah said Banerjee being the Chief Minister was trying to shield the perpetrators of crime against women. “Whatever happened at Sandeshkhali is world’s worst ever crime against women and we are determined to punish the guilty … But Mamata didi is trying to shield these criminals which she won’t be able to do,” he said.
On the rampant corruption in Bengal Shah said if BJP would come to power in Bengal it would end corruption in the State. “The TMC Government has perpetrated a rule of the corrupt and a Parivartan (political change) is needed to bring this to an end … if the BJP comes to power we will hand these corrupt upside down and realize all the money they have cheated.”
Asking for 30 seats Shah said “if Bengal gives 30 seats to Modi ji then we promise to start a health scheme of a maximum Rs 5 lakh for free.”
The BJP won 18 seats from Bengal in 2019 emerging as the principal opposition party in the State. The TMC won 22 seats while the Congress got 2 seats.
