Kolkata, Jul 22 (PTI) A day after the TMC sought to seize the political narrative through its Martyrs’ Day rally, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari used the Assembly on Wednesday to mount a sweeping counter-offensive, targeting the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee regime over corruption, women’s safety, politicisation of the police and appeasement politics.
Replying to the debate on the budget discussion for the Home and Hill Affairs Department, Adhikari sought to blunt the political messaging of the TMC’s July 21 show of strength, mixing governance announcements with a sustained attack on the previous regime and an open challenge to Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The CM hit back at Abhishek who had asserted at Monday’s rally: “If I remain alive, I will settle every score with interest in 2031.” Without naming him, Adhikari said, “A branded thief is lecturing us. Time will say whether you will stay inside or outside. He says he will settle scores? First remain outside; only then can you settle scores.” He mocked the TMC MP by referring to him as “that boy, the all-India general secretary of a regional party…. the headlight of a bullock cart.” He also remarked that Abhishek’s condition would eventually be “worse than self-proclaimed ‘Pushpa’ Jahangir Khan,” referring to the TMC nominee who fled from the Falta assembly bypoll.
Throwing an electoral challenge, Adhikari said, “Fight from Diamond Harbour. There is more than 40 per cent Muslim vote there. I will defeat you by a margin bigger than the one by which you won.” He asserted that the BJP would ensure “there is no trace of this nephew-centric Trinamool in West Bengal.” The CM also turned his guns on Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of repeatedly making insensitive remarks on crimes against women during her tenure.
Recalling several high-profile incidents of atrocities on women, Adhikari said, “You had called the Kamduni incident a ‘small incident’. On the Barasat case, you had remarked, ‘Just as one falls ill because one has a body, similarly a little bit of rape happens.’ You termed the Maynaguri incident a ‘love affair’.” “And in the RG Kar case, you had said, ‘If the parents want, I can give them Rs 10 lakh.’ These are the statements we heard from the then chief minister on women’s safety,” he said.
The chief minister also alleged that his predecessor had virtually prepared a “rate chart for rape”.
Referring to the RG Kar hospital rape-murder case, Adhikari charged the TMC government with deliberately delaying action.
“I have clear evidence that the previous chief minister sat over the RG Kar file for one year. After I came to power, the necessary approval was granted within a week. We have taken strict action against those involved,” he claimed.
The CM alleged that the CPI(M) indulged in political corruption for 34 years during its tenure, while the TMC institutionalised graft.
Adhikari also accused Mamata Banerjee of not fulfilling a single promise made before the elections that she had won.
“We will not spare the corrupt CPI(M) either. Honest leaders have nothing to fear. But the corrupt will be sent to jail and their properties attached. Many who have gone to jail and come out will return there,” he said.
Responding to Mamata Banerjee’s speech at the July 21 rally, Adhikari said, “You said many things from that stage. I am saying you will live to see yourself being established as a thief. Do you think you will get away? Every case will be thoroughly re-investigated.” In a personal swipe, he referred to her electoral defeat in Bhabanipur at the hands of Adhikari himself.
“You lost in all four booths of Mitra Institution (where she voted). Yet you used to say I (Adhikari) could not win my own ward. God’s justice is such that you yourself have lost your own ward by 4,000 votes,” he said.
Warning the former chief minister, Adhikari remarked, “The more you keep your mouth shut, the better it will be for you. No Sanatani will ever forgive you for all the riots you have instigated.” The CM also accused Banerjee of abandoning mass politics in favour of administrative and political machinery.
“You had been a mass leader and had Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s blessings. Later, you ran your politics on two pillars — the police and IPAC. Today, neither of those stands with you. Politically, you will never make a comeback. You may say or do whatever you want, but remember that you are not above the law if you violate it,” he said.
Adhikari alleged that the appeasement politics the TMC supremo Banerjee pursued by abusing the Hindu religion was worse than that of fundamentalists.
Ending that part of his speech with a sarcastic flourish, the CM remarked, “You keep eating chops and posting on Facebook. We will continue doing our work.” Mamata Banerjee had once said that ‘chop shilpa’ (fritter industry) can reduce unemployment in the state.
Adhikari also alleged: “The TMC government politicised the police to serve its political interests. We are against such attempts.” Referring to recent incidents of eggs being hurled at TMC leaders because of public grievances, he said he is against this practice. “But it was the TMC that pelted stones at BJP leaders,” he said.
Rejecting allegations that the BJP government had attempted to obstruct the TMC’s July 21 rally, Adhikari said, “If we had wanted to stop the July 21 rally, no power on earth could have allowed it to take place.” Taking a swipe at the turnout, he claimed, “There are 40,000 thieves in panchayats. Even if 10 per cent came, that makes 4,000. If 10 per cent of 4,000 thief councillors came, that is another 400. There are 250-300 people who went to jail and came out. Another 1,000-1,200 are hiding in Kolkata to avoid going to jail. Altogether, there could easily have been 4,000 to 5,000 people.” Adhikari said 26,000 police constables would be recruited, with 16,000 expected to be deployed before this year’s Durga Puja.
Reiterating his government’s stand on illegal immigration, the CM said, “Our policy is that we will welcome refugees and throw out infiltrators.” PTI PNT NN
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