Talking up hopes of the lotus blooming in Mamata’s Bengal, BJP national president JP Nadda said on Monday the BJP will register thumping wins in the more than 35 constituencies in the state as the people were fed with the ‘anarchy’ in the state under the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Coming down heavily on the TMC regime over the alleged abuse and excesses on women, as well as charges of land-grab in Sandeshkhali, Nadda said it was ‘painful’ to see women coming out on the streets and saying that they were being threatened by goons enjoying the patronage of the ruling party in the state.
In a personalised video address on Sunday, the BJP national chief said, “We have seen how on the watch of the Mamata Banerjee government, the state is being overrun by strongmen and goons, and how the likes of (Sheikh) Shahjahan were intimidating women and posing a threat to their safety in Sandeshkhali. The prevailing situation, in a nutshell, is sensitive and painful. Teams from central investigating agencies, which went to Sandeshkhali to protect the honour and dignity of women, were thwarted and attacked.”
On the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the house of a person allegedly linked to a TMC leader, who is believed to be a close aide of Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhai accused who is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on an ED team earlier, Nadda asked if Mamata’s ‘strongmen’ were threatening people at gunpoint for votes in the ongoing general elections.
“Is this how Mamata Banerjee is planning to win these elections? By threatening the public? Was this the idea and vision for Bengal that the likes of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Rabindra Nath Tagore, and Swami Vivekananda had put forward?” Nadda questioned.
Asserting that Sandeshkali has emerged as a symbol of resistance against the ‘cruelty’ and ‘ruthlessness’ of the Mamata regime, Nadda said the people will give the ruling party in the state a befitting reply in the ongoing elections.
“During the searches in Sandeshkhali, the joint team of the CBI and NSG bomb squads recovered 3 foreign-made revolvers, 1 revolver used by the state police, several bullets, and cartridges. The NSG commandos were also at the scene to protect the people in Sandeshkhali (while the searches were underway). The arms recovery and the state of fear among the people tell us how the Mamata government is spreading anarchy in Bengal. The public will give you (Mamata) a befitting reply, as the BJP will win more than 35 seats in the state,” Nadda added.
Amid polling in Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, the CBI, along with NSG bomb squads, carried out searches at two premises in Sandeshkhali and the North 24 Parganas district in connection with its probe into the attack on a team from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) earlier. During the raids, the joint team recovered a large number of arms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistol and revolvers.
The team recovered three foreign-made revolvers, one Indian-made revolver, one Colt revolver used by the state police, one foreign-made pistol, one countrymade pistol, 120 09 mm bullets, 50 .45 calibre cartridges, 120 09 mm calibre cartridges, 50 .380 cartridges and eight .32 cartridges, the agency stated.
Besides these, several other incriminating documents related to Sheikh Shahjahan were also recovered, according to the agency. Some items suspected to be countrymade explosives, which were also found during the searches, were disabled or disposed of, the agency informed.
However, the ruling Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state on Saturday over the raids in Sandeshkhali, terming it as a BJP ploy and claiming that the weapons were planted to give it the appearance of recovery and seizure.
The ruling party in the state alleged further that the CBI did not issue ‘actionable notice’ to the state government or the police administration before carrying out the raids.
Further, according to the complaint, in the absence of any representative of the state government, the “purported recovery of arms and ammunition” was a ploy by the BJP, which is in cahoots with the CBI and the NSG to “plant such weapons at the site”.
Earlier, hundreds of women on the island came out on the streets, alleging grave excesses and land-grab by Shahjahan and his henchmen.
Polling for the Lok Sabha in the state is being held across all seven phases.