Kolkata, Feb 7 (PTI) West Bengal BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of attempting to exert “political pressure” on the judiciary and blaming the state’s land policy for the “industrial deadlock” in Singur.
On the chief minister’s recent Supreme Court appearance, Bhattacharya alleged the move was a strategic attempt to protect a flawed electoral roll.
“To keep Bangladeshi infiltrators, Rohingyas, and dead voters on the voter list to win elections, she has gone (to court) wearing a black coat. This is extremely dangerous for democracy,” he told reporters.
The BJP leader claimed such actions signal a lack of faith in the legal system.
“If a chief minister of a state directly reaches the court and sits there without having any faith in the judiciary, it means you want to create political pressure. The rest of India is stunned… democracy does not exist in West Bengal,” he alleged.
On the state’s industrial climate, Bhattacharya said the BJP had opposed the “method” of land acquisition in Singur by the previous Left Front government but also alleged that the TMC government’s policy has halted all progress.
“After coming to power in West Bengal, the TMC announced it would not acquire even one square foot of land. This is the biggest obstacle to industrial growth,” he said, noting that 82 per cent of the state’s cultivated land is fragmented and held by small farmers.
He recalled a model the BJP had proposed to former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, similar to those in Haryana or Punjab, where additional land is acquired and a portion of developed land is returned to farmers.
He asserted that since the “character of the land has changed” in Singur, it still holds significant industrial potential.
Bhattacharya also highlighted the mass exodus of workers from the state, observing that “one village after another is becoming bereft of men as they are migrating elsewhere for employment”.
Bhattacharya also dismissed allegations of harassment during the ongoing electoral SIR process, alleging instead that BJP workers were facing obstruction.
He claimed that the party was unable to submit forms at several locations, and that booth-level agents were not being allowed to operate.
Bhattacharya said the BJP has demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar visit West Bengal to review the situation. PTI BSM ACD
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