Kolkata: West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim has suggested that the BJP has made things easier for the ruling Trinamool Congress by filling its Bengal unit with his one-time party colleagues who have been discarded.
In an interview with ThePrint, Hakim said it would have been difficult for his party to fight an “ideologically-driven BJP” but added that the current Bengal unit is filled with Trinamool Congress “discards”.
“They have made things easy for us,” said Hakim, who is believed to be a close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The minister is contesting from Kolkata Port, a constituency in South Kolkata near the Calcutta Dock system.
He, however, conceded that there is a “hype for the BJP” but called it an “artificial one”.
“There is a political hype but it is created by PM Modi’s repeated visits to the state. He is coming time and again,” Hakim said. “But, fortunately, people are with Mamata Banerjee because of the social benefit schemes. We run 65 schemes.”
In the interview, Hakim also spoke of the injury that the chief minister sustained at Nandigram on 10 March, though he shied away from blaming the BJP for it, and addressed the BJP referring to him as the “mini Pakistan” minister.
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‘BJP a party of Trinamool discards’
Speaking to ThePrint, Hakim said the BJP was not even able to handle the repercussions of its ticket distribution and is now dreaming of managing the entire state.
“Mughals ko kutch de ke yahan pe logo ko Muslim banana padhta the, waisehi, Modi ko kutch deke yahan logo ko BJP banana padhta hain (The Mughals had to offer people her something or the other for them to convert to Islam; similarly, Modi needs to give something to the locals to get them into BJP fold),” Hakim said.
“Leaders of different political parties in Bengal are either being intimidated or threatened by the central agencies to join the BJP or are being offered huge money or some contracts,” he added. “There is no spontaneous exodus to the BJP or instances of ideologically-aligned leaders joining the party. All of them are being lured.”
He also played down defections from the TMC, terming those who left as “discards”.
“It could have been difficult for us to fight an ideologically-driven BJP-RSS combine. But the current form of the BJP’s Bengal unit is a discarded version of the Trinamool Congress; they have made it easy for us,” he said. “The leaders or workers, who did not get any space in any party, have been inducted into the BJP.
“The BJP cadres are so indisciplined,” he claimed. “How will people trust them? There is no ideology left in the BJP and that is our advantage.”
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Didi’s injury
The West Bengal minister also slammed the BJP for suggesting that the Mamata incident in Nandigram was scripted and for accusing her of indulging in “natak (drama)”.
“Her injury is real,” Hakim said. “The BJP is trying to humiliate her by photoshopping her images like kids. Overuse of social media by the BJP has now made people ignore them. People don’t trust them anymore.”
He did, however, admit that there was no proof that the chief minister was attacked.
“Personally, I can say that there is still no proof of an attack. But it was a huge push by the crowd that gathered here,” he said. “The car door had also been damaged by the crowd. There is the police role to all this. Why did they allow so many people to come near Didi’s car? It’s a huge security breach. There could have been terrorists as well.
“I do not claim that it was an attack by the BJP. The CID has taken up the case and they will probe it.”
‘Mini-Pakistan’ minister
Hakim also addressed the controversy over the tag of ‘mini-Pakistan minister’ that has dogged him since the 2016 assembly elections.
Ahead of those elections, the Pakistani daily, Dawn, quoted Hakim as having said that his constituency was a “mini-Pakistan”. Hakim had disputed the quote back then, calling it a communal conspiracy.
But recently, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, a one-time Mamata aide, raked up the issue again by referring to Hakim as the “mini Pakistan” minister to allege that the Trinamool government was appeasing a particular community.
Hakim denied ever making the statements.
“I am as Indian as Modi and Shah are. Every Muslim is linked to Pakistan by these BJP leaders. This is perhaps the way they treat minorities,” he said.
“Suvendu knows very well that it was false propaganda. It was done before the 2016 assembly election. Can anybody show me footage in which I am calling a part of my city as mini Pakistan? Did any Indian newspaper report it?” he asked.
“A Pakistani newspaper reported it. I do not read Pakistani newspapers but BJP leaders do. Since it was reported by a Pakistani paper, I could not take legal action.”
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