Modi building false narrative about Bengal, acting as BJP campaigner: TMC
TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh said at a press conference that while Modi claimed to have sanctioned thousands of billion rupees for the development of the state, the Center was actually withholding dues of around Rs 2 lakh billion from the state.
“Modiji claimed to have sanctioned Rs 18,000 crore as a ‘lollipop’ to Bengal. But in reality, he has blocked dues of Rs 2 lakh crore to the state for various projects ranging from 100-day work program to providing housing and drinking water for the poor.”
“While Modi has been unable to attend Parliament and address MPs for days, he attends BJP meetings and regularly comes to the state ahead of elections. He is behaving more like a BJP campaigner than the Prime Minister of the country,” he said.
Ghosh also rejected Modi’s remarks on employment in the state and claimed that West Bengal has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country at 3.7 per cent.
“BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand are at the top of unemployment figures,” he claimed.
He also alleged that the prime minister ignored farmers’ concerns by stating that he did not visit the site of the farmers’ protest near New Delhi in 2022. “The TMC government in West Bengal provided minimum support price for crops like potatoes to help farmers avoid distress sales. Its narrative on Bengal has failed,” he said.
Minister Bratya Basu claimed that Modi’s repeated references to “infiltrators”, “Bangladeshis” and Rohingya were false allegations.
Basu accused the BJP of trying to polarize voters and said, “It failed to explain how many of the 58 lakh names missing from the electoral rolls were Rohingya or Bangladeshi.” he said.
He said the Prime Minister’s speech reflected the BJP’s “divisive agenda” of pitting communities against each other for electoral gains, adding that the “liberal and progressive-minded people of the state” would not be impressed by such rhetoric.
“He is behaving more like a lie-selling BJP leader than a Prime Minister,” he said.
Minister Shashi Panja, who was also present at the press conference, questioned the BJP’s call for “parivartan” and alleged that “hooligans protected by the BJP” attacked his house with the intention of killing him.
