Malda (West Bengal): BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday asked his partymen and supporters to uproot the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government from power. He said the state's contribution to national production has come down to 3.3 per cent under her regime as against the figure of 27 per cent just after independence.
"West Bengal used to contribute 27 per cent of the national production after independence. But it has been coming down gradually. Now, the state's share to national production has come down to a mere 3.3 per cent under Mamata Didi's government," Shah told a rally here. He said the state earlier used to provide 32 per cent of the jobs in the country, while it now offers only 4 per cent. "There is now an army of unemployed in the state."
Taunting the 'United India' rally organised by Trinamool supremo last week, Shah said Banerjee called leaders of the Congress and UPA's allies in the rally but she did not ask "how much had the UPA government provided for the progress of the state. The UPA II government in its five years gave only £13.2 billion while the Narendra Modi-government provided over £39.5 billion," he said
Earlier, BJP leaders in Bengal had postponed its rallies by two days owing to the ill-health of Shah. Besides Malda, Shah will address two rallies at Suri in Birbhum district and Jhargram district on January 23. On January 24, he will address rallies at Krishnanagar in Nadia district and Jaynagar in South 24 Parganas district, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said. The BJP recognises West Bengal as a priority state for the upcoming general elections and Shah has set a target of winning 22 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats.
BJP also intends to host a few rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi although the dates have not been confirmed yet, Ghosh said. In the last few years, the BJP has emerged as the main opposition in the state with a commendable show in rural polls and by-elections. The Supreme Court had earlier asked the Bengal government to allow proposed public meetings and rallies of the BJP under its “Ganatantra Bachao Yatra.”
The Supreme Court has denied permission for BJP's Rath Yatra in West Bengal. However, it has allowed the party to conduct public rallies and meetings. Furthermore, the SC has stated that if BJP comes up with a modified schedule for the yatra, then that may be considered afresh later. CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that the court has perused the revised proposal given to the chief secretary of West Bengal. The CJI said, “The government of West Bengal cannot have any objections in holding public rallies. While the law and order is in question here, looking at the new proposal given on January 14, the apprehension doesn't hold any ground.”
