After incidents of violence in Kolkata on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi claimed that Trinamool Congress and the state government have teamed up against the people of West Bengal. The violence had begun on Tuesday after TMC and BJP workers broke into a fight on the streets during Amit Shah’s roadshow in Kolkata. A bust of 19th-Century Bengali icon Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was also damaged during this fight.
In an interview with an Indian News Channel, News18, Modi said, “The silence of the people who believe in democracy and the ones who are neutral is the most worrisome aspect because the pattern of forgiving everything else due to blind hatred for Modi can cause a lot of damage to the nation.”
Elaborating on how shameful the situation in the state has become, he cited the example of peaceful elections in Jammu and Kashmir, despite the rate of violence and terrorism in the state. “No violence of any sort took place when more than 30,000 voted in one polling booth for the Panchayat elections in the Valley,” he said.
Hundreds were killed in rural areas during the West Bengal Assembly polls, he said. “Houses were burnt of the people who emerged victorious, forcing them to hide in states like Jharkhand and several others for three months. Their only crime was that they won,” he said.
During the times of unrest, the BJP, Congress and Left parties spoke up, the Prime Minister said, subtly targeting the TMC. He called out at those people who call themselves ‘neutral’ remained silent which gave them strength. “The helicopter of a BJP CM was not allowed to land before the elections, the public assembly was forcefully cancelled at the last moment and on Monday, my rally was cancelled. Permission was granted at 9 pm and two days before it, Amit Shah’s rally was cancelled. This is totally anti-democratic,” he said.
He then alleged that the state government and TMC ‘goons’ have ‘teamed against the people of Bengal’. “The reason for this is not that they fear the BJP, Congress or Left but that Mamata and Trinamool fear the power of the people of Bengal. They know that if the people of Bengal recognize the truth and turn their backs to them, their future will be in jeopardy,” he said.