Infiltration changing West Bengal’s demography: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday mounted an attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress Government in West Bengal with “playing with national security by protecting infiltrators” for vote-bank politics. With the State Assembly polls a few months away, both in West Bengal and Assam, Modi framed the electoral contest as one between maha jungle raj and good governance” and urged voters to back the BJP’s “double-engine Government” model everywhere.
Addressing rallies for the second consecutive day in poll-bound West Bengal, where he launched several projects, the PM said ending the ruling party’s maha jungle raj was vital to restore law and order, development and investor confidence in the State. Earlier in the day, while addressing a rally on the second day of his visit to poll-bound Assam, Modi said infiltration “kept increasing” during the Congress rule in the State for decades, with illegal immigrants “encroaching upon forests, animal corridors and traditional institutions”.
Addressing a rally at Singur in Hooghly district in West Bengal, Modi said infiltrators, who had settled in the state using forged documents, must be identified and sent back. “The TMC is playing with national security. They are trying to protect infiltrators because they consider them their vote bank,” Modi said at Singur, which gained a name for the 2008 agitation by the TMC against land acquisition that forced Tata Motors to pull out its small car project and move to Gujarat.
In his two massive rallies in Bengal for the second consecutive day, Modi accused the TMC Government of stonewalling critical security measures, saying that for the last several years, “the Centre has been writing to the state government seeking land for fencing, but nothing has been done”. A day earlier PM addressed a huge rally in Malda.
Calling for a change of guard in the poll-bound State, the prime minister said it was essential to oust the TMC’s “maha jungle raj” and bring in a BJP Government committed to good governance. Drawing a parallel with the erstwhile AAP regime in New Delhi, Modi said a Government there had earlier stalled central schemes but was voted out.
He also alleged that the TMC Government was deliberately blocking central schemes out of political hostility. Modi also said voters must ensure that alleged incidents of land grabbing and rape in Sandeshkhali are not repeated and that teachers do not lose their jobs due to corruption. Citing fishermen as an example, Modi said lakhs of families dependent on fishing were being deprived of benefits due to the State Government’s “non-cooperation”.
Highlighting the BJP’s governance record, Modi cited Tripura as an example of the “double-engine” model. “Earlier, only four out of 100 homes had tap water. Today, 85 out of 100 homes receive tap water. In Bengal, half the population still lacks this facility. The BJP will change this. It is Modi’s guarantee,” he said. “The people of Bengal will punish the cruel TMC Government,” Modi claimed.
PM warned Assamese people to remain vigilant of the Congress, as its “only policy is to protect infiltrators and gain power”. He said Congress has lost the trust of people as it gives a ‘message of negative politics’, and now, the BJP is the ‘first choice’ of voters in the country.
Modi addressed a rally in Nagaon district, after laying the foundation stone for the Rs 6,957-crore Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, and virtually flagging off two Amrit Bharat trains. ‘The government is committed to ensuring smooth traffic while keeping the forest safe. After the completion of the elevated corridor, vehicles will pass above while wildlife movement below will remain unhindered, with the design prepared keeping in mind traditional movement routes of rhinos, elephants and tigers,’ Modi said.
The northeast has for decades faced the pain of distance - both of hearts and location - with people believing that development was happening elsewhere and they were being left behind, which affected not only the economy but also trust, the PM said.
