Durgapur (WB), Jan 28 (PTI) BJP president Nitin Nabin on Wednesday accused the TMC government of endangering national security by patronising infiltration, and harassing voters during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, and called for a change of guard in the upcoming assembly elections.
Addressing a public meeting in Durgapur during his first visit to West Bengal after assuming the party post, Nabin alleged that there was a “deliberate attempt” by the TMC to change the state’s demography and “turn Bengal into Bangladesh”, posing what he described as a serious threat to national security.
“While the Election Commission is determined to remove infiltrators and fake voters, the TMC government is trying to derail the SIR exercise through fear-mongering and misinformation,” he said, dismissing the ruling party’s allegation that the poll panel was harassing common people.
“It is not the Election Commission but the state administration- DMs, SDOs and BDOs acting as puppets of the TMC government- which are intimidating citizens to malign the EC,” the BJP president alleged.
He cautioned officials against acting at the behest of what he termed a “temporary government”.
Placing the issue of demographic change in a historical and ideological context, Nabin invoked Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, saying Bengal existed in its present form because of his resistance to attempts to merge it with East Pakistan, and claimed that “similar forces are active even today”.
“Those who are not children of Bengal’s soil cannot claim rights here. BJP workers are ready to make any sacrifice, but we will not allow Bengal to be merged with Bangladesh,” he said, calling upon party cadres to intensify their movement against infiltration.
The BJP leader also linked the SIR exercise with the broader political battle ahead of the assembly polls, asserting that TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was “crying foul in Delhi”.
Nabin accused the TMC government of presiding over what he described as “jungle raj”, alleging that corruption and lawlessness had replaced governance, with party leaders openly collecting “TMC tax”.
“Factories have been shut, and companies of corruption have been opened,” he said, alleging that several ministers were either in jail or out on bail in recruitment-related scams and warning that those facing cases would not be spared.
Nabin said Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district was once an industrial hub attracting workers and students from Bihar and Jharkhand, but alleged that industrial growth had stalled under the TMC regime.
“Mamata Banerjee promised industrialisation during the Singur movement. Fifteen years later, even old industries are shutting down, forcing youths to migrate outside the state,” he said.
Targeting the state government over crimes against women, Nabin referred to a Durgapur rape incident in the region and accused the administration of insensitivity and shielding the culprit.
“When the chief minister questions why women were outside after 7 pm, it reflects the mindset of the government. BJP workers have taken responsibility for the safety of mothers and sisters and are ready to make any sacrifice,” he said.
On religious issues, the BJP leader alleged discrimination against ‘Sanatan’ traditions, claiming that “while there were no restrictions on ‘azaan’, Durga Puja faced obstacles”.
“No Sanatani will tolerate this,” he said, linking the issue to what he described as a broader ideological challenge.
With an eye on the upcoming assembly elections, Nabin urged party workers to strengthen booth-level organisation, asserting that a “double-engine government” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi would usher in a “developed and golden Bengal”.
“Mamata Banerjee’s countdown has begun. Raise your voice so loudly that it reaches Delhi,” he told party workers, expressing confidence that the BJP would dislodge the TMC from power. PTI PNT BSM PNT BDC
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