BJP chief pays tribute to three party workers who were allegedly murdered last month, claims Bengal CM is “unleashing violence” on her rivals.
Purulia: BJP chief Amit Shah Thursday accused the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of “unleashing violence” on her political rivals in the state.
Referring to the alleged murder of three BJP workers in Purulia last month, Shah said the sacrifice of his party workers will not go waste. The BJP, he said, will win 22 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019.
Earlier, slogans of Jai Shri Ram were raised intermittently by BJP supporters as Shah came on stage.
Shah also felicitated the families of the three BJP workers killed during the panchayat polls last month. There were emotional moments when they hugged Shah on the stage.
“I went to Maa Tara temple and prayed for the cadre to give them strength so that they can uproot killer Mamta Banerjee government,” Shah said addressing the crowd.
He said that if the people of Bengal “want to stop the illegal immigration from Bangladesh then they have to dethrone the Mamata-led TMC government”.
The strategy
The Purulia rally is aimed at consolidating BJP’s support base in the tribal stronghold region, which used to be a Naxal hotbed until a few years.
Also, Shah’s decision to invite the families of slain party workers is seen as an attempt to strike a chord with the grassroots cadre. The BJP had named the podium, “Shahid Jagannath Tudu, Trilochan Mahato, Dulal Kumar Smaran Mancha” in the memory of its three workers.
“From the stage of Purulia, I will assure you that the blood of our cadre will not go waste. Our cadre is being targeted; they are being harassed with fake cases,” said Shah.
Maintaining that violence has never been the culture of Bengal, Shah said, “This is a state of great personalities such as Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya among others. And you all can see what Mamata has done to this state.”
“More than 20 of our party workers were killed in the state in recent past… I challenge Mamata Banerjee that we will dethrone you in coming days,” he added.
He claimed said winds of change are blowing in the state and the party will win 22 Lok Sabha seats in the general election next year. The BJP had won two seats in the 2014 elections.
Taking a swipe at Banerjee’s efforts to form a grand alliance against the Modi government, Shah said that the TMC is losing political ground in the state.
“You are losing ground. Before thinking about the mahagathbandhan, think about your declining support base. We are already number 2 despite violence unleashed by you,” said Shah.
-With PTI inputs