The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi finally opened a retaliatory fire on Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stopping just short of calling her a protector of ponzi swindlers and blaming her for conniving with her Congress patrons in Delhi, who had pushed the whole nation into a deep gorge of hardship.
Mounting a vitriolic attack on Banerjee for her party’s alleged association with chit fund scams, the Gujarat Chief Minister, who was on Sunday addressing a mammoth gathering in support of BJP candidates Bappi lahiri, Chandan Mitra, George Baker, RK Handa et al at Serampore Stadium said, “The Trinamool Government had soiled the holy name of Saradha (the other name of Saraswati) by using the Saradha chit fund as a means to come to power.
“When the people of Bengal brought you (Banerjee) to power they had dreams in their eyes. But you have shattered their dreams” by allowing your Government to be associated with the chit fund organisations and now Finance Minister “P Chidambaram has collaborated with you in helping out the guilty who were associated with the ponzi fund racket.”
The Trinamool bigwigs’ alleged involvement with the Saradha chit fund and the Chief Minister’s repeated refusal to allow CBI inquiry into the Rs 20,000 crore scam has been a major election issue this time round threatening to dent Banerjee’s image and electoral prospect severely. In what could also not be music to the Trinamool supremo’s ears Modi warned that “if I come to power I promise to take stringent action against those who perpetrate such scams and no one will be spared” and wondered how the paintings of the Chief Minister who was a good artist and whose works were normally sold between Rs 4 and 8 lakhs could be bought by some shady persons for Rs 1.80 crore.
There are allegations that Banerjee’s paintings were purchased by the Saradha chief Sudipto Sen for Rs 1.86 crore. Pooh-pooing Banerjee for calling the people of other states living in Bengal as “outsiders” Modi said “it is strange how your Chief Minister calls a Bihari, an Oriya and a Marwari an outsider but she has no problem with the Bangladeshis who infiltrate India in large numbers.”
He alleged how Banerjee had rolled out red carpets for the Bangladeshis “but after May 16 these infiltrators should be ready with their bedrolls to move out.” lambasting his Bengal counterpart for “your so much attachment to the Chair” Modi who “had personal regards for you” said “You (Banerjee) have destroyed the faith of the people and their hopes” adding the Trinamool chief had deviated from her path. Banerjee “has done more harm to Bengal in 35 months of her rule than the left did in 35 years of theirs,” he said.
“Instead of developing Bengal you have not only done nothing for this State instead of attacking and implicating your opposition in false cases but you have taken the path the Congress and the left took during the previous 67 years of their rules.” Attacking the Congress for trying to bamboozle the people by offering to support the Third Front if such a situation arose after the polls Modi thundered, “the Congress’ only motto is to keep Modi away from power and so they have offered to support even the Third Front if such a situation arises. But should the Congress not be asked then as to why they are going to polls alone if they have to ally with Third Front. Are they not fooling the peopleIJ”
Taking on the Congress, left, TMC and others for impeding the development in the name of secularism he said “when I talk of development Congress, Mulayam, left, Mayawati and Trinamool talk of secularism, when I talk of creating employment they throw the barb of secularism at me, when I talk of basic needs they raise secularism issue but such things would not work and the people have taken their decision.”
launching a massive broadside against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi the BJP leader said “the mother-son Government has pushed India into a deep gorge” adding people like Rahul Gandhi who talk of poverty and the poor were born with golden spoons and go to see the poor like tourists going to see the Taj Mahal.
“Poverty and the poor are tourism items for them. They do not have any idea of what poverty really is. I have sold tea in trains and have seen poverty from close. So unlike them poverty is not a recreation for me. It haunts me even in the sleep.” The Congress only rub salt to the injury of the poor by talking of poverty and doing nothing for its eradication, he said.
Attacking Gandhi for calling India a beehive he said “India may be a beehive for you but it is a Mother for me. It is my mother land and I can go any distance for its cause.” Taking a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the BJP leader said the Prime Minister had told the media in Guwahati that he saw no Modi wave in India “but I ask him whether he could see poverty, unemployment and inflation in the past 10 years of his rule. If you don’t then how will you see the Modi waveIJ”
Saying that for political pundits elections were only a matter of arithmetic but for the people it was a matter of chemistry he said “this time round electoral arithmetic will give way to electoral chemistry where one plus one will not become two but eleven” appealing to the people to “give me your cooperation” --- by sending all the 42 candidates from Bengal --- and “I will give you good governance.”