Emphasising the need for a strong and stable government at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed opposition bloc INDIA for allegedly spreading canards about the CAA, asserting that it is “Modi ki guarantee to provide citizenship to those who have faith in Maa Bharati (Mother India)”.
Referring to Sandeshkhali, where allegations of sexual abuse and land grab against TMC leaders surfaced recently, Modi assured people that the “culprits of Sandeshkhali will spend the rest of their lives in jail”.
The prime accused of the Sandeshkhali imbroglio, suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh who was on the run for 55 days, was first arrested by the Bengal police and subsequently handed over to the CBI on a court order. Sheikh currently remains in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case connected to “land grab”.
The constituency witnessed back-to-back public meetings addressed by both Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Modi, albeit separated by a distance of around 30 kilometres from each other.
Banerjee, though, accused the saffron party of “peddling lies” regarding the CAA.
Addressing a mega rally at Rash Mela grounds in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, Modi also criticised opposition parties for their alleged efforts to protect the corrupt, asserting his determination to ensure their punishment and promising even stricter action in the next five years.
Urging people to elect a strong government, Modi said for the country to become the world’s third-largest economy, there is a need to have a “majboot sarkar” (stable government) at the Centre.
“The development witnessed by the country under the BJP rule in the last decade is no more than a trailer. I still have a lot more things to do. We have to take Bengal forward along with the rest of the country,” he said.
“The world considers Modi to be a strong leader for his ability to take tough decisions,” the Prime Minister said, referring to the abolition of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill.
He asserted that the decisions were taken to ensure that the country is free of corruption and terrorism besides fulfilling the aspirations of the people.
In his repeated references to Sandeshkhali, Modi criticised the state government for its alleged apathy towards the victims.
“It is only the BJP which can put an end to the atrocities on women in Bengal. The entire country has seen how the TMC fought tooth and nail to protect the perpetrators of Sandeshkhali crimes. What happened to women in Sandeshkhali was symbolic of TMC’s misrule,” he stated justifying the need to strengthen his party’s foothold in the state.
“The BJP is committed to punish the Sandeshkhali culprits. They will spend the rest of their lives in jail,” Modi declared.
Hitting out at the opposition INDIA bloc, Modi said, “They never cared for marginalised people. The TMC, Left, and Congress never bothered about the welfare of the Rajbanshi, Namasudra, and Matua communities. Now that we have brought CAA, they are spreading rumours and lies. It is Modi ki guarantee to provide citizenship to those who have faith in Maa Bharati,” he said.
His comments come against the backdrop of a campaign by opposition parties, including TMC, which claimed that applying for CAA would turn legal citizens stateless.
According to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), rules of which were notified on March 13, the government will now start granting Indian nationality to non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians – from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Lashing out at the Congress for its “lip service on eradicating poverty”, Modi claimed that the BJP government has “elevated 25 crore Indians from poverty in the last 10 years.
“Niyat sahi toh natijey sahi (right will deliver right results),” he said.
Alleging that the opposition was “busy spreading the politics of lies, rumours and deceit”, the PM stated, “While I am saying remove corruption, they are saying ‘save the corrupt.’ I will ensure the corrupt are punished and the poor get justice. We will take more stringent action against the corrupt in the next five years,” he said.
In an apparent dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Modi thanked her for not putting up hurdles before the rally.
“I want to express my gratitude to Mamata Didi. When I came to this same venue to address a rally in 2019, she got a platform erected in the middle of the ground to shrink its size. At the time, I had said people would give a befitting reply and they did,” he said in reference to the BJP’s victory in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha seat on the previous occasion.
“Today, she did not do any such thing and I got the opportunity to meet you. I thank the Bengal government for not creating any obstacles,” he said.
Stressing the importance of sending a “stern message to the TMC”, Modi alleged roadblocks to implementation of central government schemes like Ayushman Bharat in Bengal or putting the state’s own label on them.”
Addressing a rally in Mathabhanga, the chief minister said, “The CAA is a trap to turn legal citizens into foreigners. Once you (BJP) implement CAA, NRC will follow. We would allow neither CAA nor NRC in West Bengal.”
She questioned why a member of the census department was included in the CAA committee “if they have no plan for the NRC in future.”
“The CAA is the head and the NRC is the tail,” the TMC supremo said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh responded to Modi’s corruption allegations stating: “The Prime Minister may be speaking of corruption but the BJP itself shelters corrupt leaders. He was only trying to fool the masses. This is his guarantee.” (PTI)
