TMC rule has pushed Bengal into identity crisis: Yogi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday mounted a sharp attack on the ruling TMC during a series of rallies in West Bengal, alleging that the State had been pushed into an “identity crisis” over the past 15 years because of corruption, extortion and the rise of what he described as “mafia rule”.

Addressing election meetings in Birbhum’s Rampurhat and Bolpur and Paschim Bardhaman’s Barabani in support of BJP candidates, the BJP leader claimed that Bengal, once regarded as the country’s cultural Capital, had been turned into a “crime Capital” under the TMC Government.

“The TMC has turned Bengal from the cultural Capital of India into a crime Capital. A BJP Government will once again make Bengal the cultural Capital of the country,” Adityanath said. He urged people to vote for the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls, saying the people of Bengal no longer needed the TMC.

“For the last 15 years, Bengal has been facing an identity crisis. Terror, extortion, corruption and mafia raj have become the State’s identity under the TMC,” he said.

Adityanath alleged that an atmosphere of fear had been created among common people, particularly women and the youth.

“The people are living in fear. Daughters, sisters are not safe, the youth have no future, and the mafia has flourished under political protection. BJP is committed to ending this mafia culture,” he said.

Targeting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he alleged that the State was in the grip of various mafias.

“Under Mamata Banerjee, Bengal has fallen into the hands of sand mafia, coal mafia, land mafia and cattle mafia. These mafias are flourishing under political patronage,” he claimed.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also accused the TMC Government of diverting central funds.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi sends money from Delhi for the poor and for development, but TMC leaders and their supporters loot that money before it reaches the people,” he alleged.

Seeking to draw a parallel between present-day Bengal and Uttar Pradesh before the BJP came to power there in 2017, Adityanath said his State too had once witnessed frequent riots, lawlessness and large-scale corruption.

“The situation that Bengal is witnessing today existed in Uttar Pradesh nine years ago. There was anarchy, fear, riots, criminal gangs and rampant corruption. Funds meant for development were looted,” he said.

“Nine years ago, riots used to take place every second or third day in Uttar Pradesh. Festivals could not be celebrated peacefully. Women were unsafe, hooliganism was at its peak and criminals and mafias controlled everything. Today, the situation has changed completely,” he said.

Claiming that Uttar Pradesh had undergone a transformation under the BJP Government, Adityanath said the answer to Bengal’s problems was a “double-engine” Government.

“The only remedy for Bengal is a double-engine BJP Government. The opponents will not be able to match the speed of a double-engine Government,” he said.

Referring to religious issues, the BJP leader said there was a time when chanting “Jai Shri Ram” was discouraged in Uttar Pradesh, but that situation had changed after the BJP came to power.

“Remember what the situation in Uttar Pradesh was earlier. There was a time when people were afraid to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Today, the world’s grandest Ram temple stands in Ayodhya,” he said.

He also said the BJP would not allow cow slaughter and would not let Hindus be divided.

“We will not allow gau mata to be slaughtered, and we will not allow Hindus to be divided,” he said.

Adityanath further claimed that law and order in Uttar Pradesh had improved to the extent that incidents of “love jihad” and “land jihad” no longer occurred.

“Today, there is celebration in Uttar Pradesh, not unrest. There is no incident of love jihad or land jihad. If such an incident occurs, such strict action is taken that seven generations remember it,” he said.

He alleged that if any land mafia attempted to occupy public property in Uttar Pradesh, the State Government would reclaim the land and use it for welfare schemes.

“If anyone captures land belonging to the poor, traders or the Government, we take it back and build houses for the poor there,” he said.

Listing the achievements of the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath said 65 lakh houses had been provided to the poor in the State, and 16 crore people were receiving free ration.

“Today we have provided houses to 65 lakh poor people in Uttar Pradesh, and 16 crore poor people are receiving free ration,” he said.

At the Bolpur rally, Adityanath also warned against what he called “infiltrators”, saying a BJP Government in Bengal would send them out of the country.

“Do not worry about what any maulana or a TMC leader says. Let a BJP Government come to power, and all those creating disorder will be made to fall in line,” he said.

Invoking Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fulfilled his dream by scrapping Article 370.

“The dream seen by Syama Prasad Mookerjee has been realised under Prime Minister Modi. Article 370 has been abrogated, and the same Constitution and laws now apply in Jammu and Kashmir as they do in West Bengal and the rest of the country,” he said.