PURULIA: Just days after BJP president Amit Shah gave a call from the Simulia groudn in Purulia to uproot Trinamool from the state, the ruling party said BJP would fall flat on its face in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool also said it wanted a Prime Minister West Bengal this time. “We will bag all 42 seats in Bengal in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Let BJP secure the two seats in Bengal they won last time,” State Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari said.
He said misinformed people about availability of water and power connectivity, referring to Shah's allegation that women in Purulia had to walk 5 km for water. Shah had also claimed that the BJP will bag more than 22 seats from Bengal this time. Adhikari said not a single penny had been sent for centrally sponsored schemes in Bengal since 2014. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra had earlier said that although Rs 2.85 Lakh Crore was allocated to the state by the 14th Finance Commission, the net amount received was lower.
Adhikari alleged that the Centre had cut the budget for 38 big welfare projects and terminated 28 projects in the state. The state government pumped in money to keep the projects afloat. State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said the people in Bengal did not want to survive on BJP's dole politics. “People here will not beg from the Centre. We will finance our development projects. They cannot intimidate us like that,” he said.
Hakim said BJP supporters were killed after the party failed to pay Maoists. “There is no space for the rioters in the state. People have seen the development works by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and they will give a befitting reply to BJP,” he said.
