Senior BJP leader lK Advani on Thursday appealed to the people of Bengal to vote for the saffron outfit en masse and be party to the overall development of the country that would take place in the hands of a BJP-led Government that was coming to power in Delhi.
He was addressing a party rally at Bhadreshwar in Hooghly district in support of Hooghly BJP candidate Chandan Mitra and his Serampore counterpart Bappi lahiri, the famed singer-cum-music director.
On why the people should vote for the BJP, the senior saffron leader said there was no scope for the Congress to come to power as people of the country had decided to reject that party this time round. Hence, he appealed to the voters to vote only for the BJP and not for any other party which could finally provide prop to the Congress at the Centre.
“One thing is for sure that the Congress is not coming to power as the people of the country have rejected them. So it will be advisable to vote for the BJP only and not any other party so that they can strengthen the hands of a rejected outfit like the Congress,” Advani said at an impressive party rally at Bhadreswhar.
The senior leader said after BJP came to power it would concentrate on a wholesome development of the country in which Bengal would essentially play a huge role. “In order that Bengal plays a role in the overall development of the country you should vote for the BJP and no other party,” he maintained.
Making a pitch for electoral reforms Advani wondered whether rallies could be organised by Election Commission instead of political parties where representatives of various parties could engage in political debates allowing the people to gauge their political standpoint.
He called for open political debates ahead of general polls inviting Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to engage their BJP counterparts in such intellectual contests allowing the people to gauge their political awareness and maturity ahead of the elections.
Speaking on the occasion, Chandan Mitra came down heavily on a system that saw a steady flight of industries from the State as also his own constituency Hooghly. Incidentally Singur movement that saw flight of the much talked about Nano plant from Bengal is an Assembly segment in his constituency.
“As we can see how the industries in Bengal have shut down over the years during the left rule. We expected a turnaround but nothing happened and industries continue to flee the State,” Mitra said wondering how thousands of people were wandering jobless on account of regular closer of industries.
Attacking the Government for doing precious little for the farmers and labourers, Mitra also wondered why in a fertile zone like Hooghly there was no food-processing unit.