Insisting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech at the BJP's virtual rally for West Bengal was "devoid of substance", the TMC on Tuesday said the saffron party was "hungry for votes" even when the state was battling the double whammy of COVID-19 and destruction caused by Cyclone Amphan.
Addressing the rally earlier in the day, Shah criticised the TMC-led Bengal government for its alleged apathy towards migrant workers. He said these labourers would ensure Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's exit in the 2021 assembly polls as she had "insulted" them by terming Shramik Special trains run to ferry them home during lockdown "Corona Express".
The Union minister also attacked Banerjee over the alleged culture of political violence in the state, saying the only industry that was flourishing in Bengal was that of "crude bombs and illegal weapons".
Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee said Shah's speech was full of rhetoric and asked why he had been silent on the India-China standoff.
"As usual, the speech of Amit Shah Ji was all rhetoric and no substance. Nonetheless, since he has talked about his dream of seeing 'EXIT' of TMC, I would like to ask him one more time - 'When are the Chinese EXITING our territory'," he tweeted with the hashtag #BengalrejectsAmitShah.
Indian and Chinese armies have been engaged in a standoff for a month now in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Both countries are trying to defuse the crisis through diplomatic and military channels.
Senior TMC leader and state education minister Partha Chatterjee also took to Twitter to attack Shah.
"At a time when the state is battling a pandemic and a natural disaster, Amit Shah's priorities are crystal clear. Bengal, remember the face of this man who is just hungry for your votes and nothing else," he said.
The official Twitter handle of the TMC said, "Amit Shah, someone who's himself put the inclusivity of India in danger, talks about 'restoring' the culture of Bengal. Doesn't he remember it was Mamata Banerjee who restored statue of Vidya Sagar, vandalised by his men in front of his own eyes."
A bust of the 19th century polymath and social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalised during a clash between TMC and BJP workers on May 14 last year when Shah was holding a roadshow in Kolkata ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Both the parties had accused each other of desecrating the bust.
In a video conference attended by state finance minister Amit Mitra and MPs Dinesh Trivedi and Derek O’Brien, the TMC criticised accused Shah of misleading people to stay in power.
Terming BJP ministers as “imitation masters”, Mitra said, “They only know how to copy Mamata Banerjee’s schemes. They are boasting about Ayushman Bharat health scheme and alleging that Bengal is not implementing it, but I would like to clarify that Mamata Banerjee has already initiated a health scheme called ‘Swasthya Sathi’ much before the Centre thought about it. Now they have copied and boasting about it. They have become imitation masters now.”
‘Swasthya Sathi’ was announced in Cabinet on February 17, 2016. It is basic health cover for secondary and tertiary care up to Rs. 5 lakh per annum per family.
Responding to Shah’s fact and figures on Centre’s achievement, Mitra said, “They are telling lies. They are doing ‘jhoot ki rajniti’ (politics based on lies). I am shocked that Shah has claimed that 10 crore toilets were built but the fact is only 1.43 crore toilets were built. Why this falsehood?”
On PDS figures presented by Shah, the Bengal finance minister said, “There were inadequate supplies from the Centre and public distribution system (PDS) was affected. Under scheme, 6.01 crore people in Bengal who meet the criteria got supplies. But Shah has claimed the figure as 7.66 Crore. Why he has increased the figure by 1.5 crore?”
On migrant woes, Mitra asked where was the direct cash benefit for people belonging to the unorganised sector.
“Nearly 70% people belongs to unorganised sector and there should be a direct cash benefit of Rs 7,500 to bring back the demand on track and once it’s done then supply will start rolling. As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, nearly 2 crore jobs were lost in 2018. In one of the Niti Ayog meeting, the union finance minister was not there but Amit Shah was present. I don’t know how much knowledge he has about the economy. I would like to question them where is the fiscal stimulus? There is a drop in the GDP for the seven consecutive quarters. In last quarter from January to March, economic growth fell to 3.1 per cent. This is lowest in 11 years.”
He also expressed concerned that GST cess, amounting to Rs 11,000 crore will not be paid by the Centre.
Trivedi termed Shah’s virtual rally as ‘purely a political one’ and expressed dismay that even in this time of crisis BJP is hungry for power.
“This is not the time for Jumla. West Bengal is struggling with coronavirus and Cyclone Amphan and it is the time to work together. However, it is unfortunate that today Amit Shah proved that his only intention is doing politics in Bengal. Today it was a political rally. I would like to remind Shah that he is not the home minister of one single party but he is the home minister of the entire country. I think it is time to work together. I think Amit Shah should have a public debate with our finance minister Amit Mitra face to face over the Centre’s achievements,” he said.
O’Brien said Shah talked about TMC’s exit plan “but I would like to question him what is happening at the Indo-china border. Who are exiting and who are entering? We need to know”.
He said, “The home minister also talked about bringing back the culture of Bengal. I would like to suggest him to start with the place where his people ransacked the statute of Vidya Sagar.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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