BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched heavy retaliatory fire against Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacking her for taking sides of the Bangladeshi infiltrators who had usurped lands and jobs of the Indians.
Going all guns blazing at Banerjee, he said instead of bringing a change in Bengal the Trinamool supremo herself had undergone a “Poriborton in her past three years in power.” Reminding how “Didi had rocked Parliament in August 2005 on the same issue” he said “then she had blamed the left Front for playing vote-bank politics and allowing infiltration but now she has changed track and is backing the infiltrators herself.”
He was speaking at a huge election rally at Krishnagore in Nadia district in support of former Union Minister Satyabrata Mukherjee. He said, “There were times when we used to revere you for your fighting spirit against the oppressive left regime but now you have changed and have been towing the same line they had taken to cling to power.”
“Not only Mamata but also the then Home Minister Indrajit Gupta had claimed that there were more than one crore infiltrators in India and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had thrown a word of caution against the shady activities of madarsas in the border districts,” he said wondering “why only Modi is accused of communalism when he raises such issues which are of national importance and is connected to national unity and security.”
The Gujarat CM said he would seriously take up the issue if he became the Prime Minister and “those infiltrators who have come to usurp the employment of our youth will have to go from this country” distinguishing between the refugees who were thrown out of Bangladesh and the infiltrators who had come on their own.
Reminding of a Supreme Court ruling holding the infiltrators as aggressors Modi dared Banerjee to ignore the apex court order on the subject. “Didi is threatening to put me behind the bars but does she have the courage to defy the Supreme Court order,” he asked.
Banerjee had at an earlier rally in the same district said Modi should be tied with a rope and jailed for raising the infiltration issue. Taking at dig at Banerjee, Modi said “Didi should not waste public money in calling tenders and buying ropes because even in that case Saradha men would take the tenders for supplying the ropes for me.”