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70 lakh Bengal farmers will get PM-Kisan grants with arrears if BJP wins polls — Modi at Haldia

Modi inaugurates 3 petroleum & road infrastructure projects in Bengal, pitches for revival of industry, says Mamata govt is ‘reincarnation of Left’.

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Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday addressed his first rally for the upcoming West Bengal assembly election, launching an attack on the Mamata Banerjee government for allegedly depriving local farmers of benefits under the central government’s PM Kisan cash assistance scheme.

The BJP, looking to form its maiden government in West Bengal this year, has emerged as the Trinamool Congress’ main opponent for the upcoming elections. Addressing the BJP campaign rally in Haldia Sunday, Modi lashed out at Mamata for “lacking sympathy” for farmers, “reviving” violence in the state, and failing to create jobs. 

Modi said the state government has dragged its feet on rolling out PM-Kisan. If voted to office in the state, he added, the BJP’s first cabinet decision will be to release PM Kisan grants to Bengal’s estimated 70 lakh farmers, including arrears since its launch in December 2018.

“The first cabinet decision will be to clear three years’ dues of the Bengal farmers, if the BJP succeeds in forming government here,” he said. 

Under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana — better known as PM-Kisan — the central government offers farmers an annual cash assistance of Rs 6,000 in three equal instalments paid every four months. 

The scheme has been a point of conflict between the state and central governments since its launch, with the latter accusing Mamata of refusing to implement it in Bengal. Mamata claims she had asked the central government to route the money through the state administration, but said last month she is ready for the scheme’s rollout in its original form.

The Bengal government also runs a cash assistance scheme for the state’s farmers. The Mamata Banerjee government’s poll-year Budget, announced earlier this week, has increased the annual assistance offered under the scheme to Rs 6,000, from Rs 5,000.

Modi said the Mamata Banerjee government is “unsympathetic” towards farmers. 

“Under immense pressure, the Trinamool government recently agreed to participate in the PM Kisan scheme, but did not give us any account details of state agencies to transfer the money to the farmers directly. Even as 26 lakh aware farmers registered with the scheme on their own, the state government sent us a verified beneficiary list of only 6,000 farmers. This is the extent of apathy the government has for the farmers.” 

The Trinamool Congress, which had planned a press conference in the evening, cancelled the event citing the “natural calamity” in Uttarakhand. Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said, “On such a tragic day, Trinamool Congress decided to refrain from making political comments. We will respond to the PM’s allegation tomorrow.”


Also Read: Modi rally, infra projects, month-long yatra — BJP sets in motion its grand Bengal plan


‘Nirmam’ Mamata

As he did in Assam a few hours earlier, Modi used his stage in Bengal to condemn the “international conspiracy being hatched against India to malign the image of the country and defame the nation” — a reference to recent tweets by international celebrities in support of the farmers’ protests.

In the same breath, he sought to note that Mamata Banerjee did not not “utter a word against such an international conspiracy against the country”. 

“She chose to be silent when the country is being maligned. It does not anger her. She is only annoyed when people chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai,” he added. 

Modi, who inaugurated three petroleum and road infrastructure projects worth around Rs 5,000 crore in the state Sunday, said the central government “has been taking multiple measures to boost industry and modernise infrastructure in West Bengal”. 

“It has accelerated the Kolkata Metro Rail project worth Rs 8,500 crore, work for the Amritsar-Dankuni freight corridor. The government is also contemplating more such freight corridors for the state. It has allocated 25 per cent more to improve the railway network in Bengal,” he added. “Haldia’s fishing harbour and port will be modernised for more businesses.” 

The projects inaugurated Sunday will generate “thousands of jobs”, he said.

“Haldia used to be the hub of petro-chemical, refinery and food processing units. Bengal used to top the list in terms of industry, growth, infrastructure during the British period. Since Independence, the state only slid down as successive governments indulged in corruption, violence and torture,” he added.

Mamata’s promise of “poribortan (change)” in 2011 led Bengalis to believe in her, he said.

“But in the first year of her rule, it became apparent that she was a reincarnation of the Left government,” he added. 

“People expected ‘mamta (maternal love)’ from her, but she turned out to be ‘nirmam (cruel)’. Her government and party revived the Left’s violence, torture and corruption in a bigger way. All old factories and projects were shut down. Can anybody tell me how many factories were founded since then? None. People lost jobs and migrated to other states”. 

No industry, Modi said, “wants to invest here”. “One of the steel majors could not start work in Bengal due to the declining law and order situation. No investors get confidence to pour money here.”


Also Read: Why Mamata and BJP are battling over this little known Bengal minority community


‘Ram’ card

Mamata’s government, he said, “institutionalised corruption, criminalised politics and politicised administration”. 

“People in Bengal have had enough with this corrupt government,” he added, before resorting to analogies from football, which is known to be among the most popular sports in Bengal. “They have committed too many fouls, including misgovernance, corruption, violence and loot. The voters will show this government the Ram-card (a spin on the red-card shown when a player commits fouls in football games),”  he said.

“People will now say ‘Ram Ram’ to the Bua-Bhatija nexus, and chant Jai Shri Ram,” he said. The “Bua-Bhatija nexus” refers to Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, an MP who is seen as her heir in the Trinamool Congress.

Among other things, Modi also referred to the 2007 Nandigram peasant movement against land acquisition. Mamata had thrown her weight behind the Left government-era protest and this — along with her support for the 2006 agitation in Singur — is seen as one of the prime drivers of Mamata’s ascent in the state.

Mamata Banerjee announced earlier this year that she will contest the 2021 assembly election from Nandigram.  

Speaking at a venue only 12 km from Nandigram, Modi said, “The persons responsible for firing at farmers in Nandigram have been inducted in her party. She used the poor people of Bengal only as voters.” 

He also referred to alleged corruption in relief funds for the 2020 cyclone Amphan, noting that a court had to “intervene and order a central audit”. He said the rations sent by the central government for Bengal residents during the Covid crisis could not reach beneficiaries as the “Mamata government did not cooperate”. 

Summing up his speech, the PM urged the voters to stay alert to a “behind-the-screen conspiracy”. 

“Trinamool-CPM-Congress have joined hands against the BJP. They hold closed-door meetings in Delhi, while portraying a political rivalry here,” he added.


Also Read: ‘Garbage of lies, BJP a party of cheats’ — Mamata rebuts Amit Shah’s statements in Bengal


 

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