BJP’s Poll Promises to Rajbanshis Remain Unmet, Claims Abhishek

Accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of making false promises to the community members, who constitute a large chunk of the voters in Coochbehar district, he said, “Shah had promised to form a ‘Narayani Sena’ battalion of the Indian Army from the community members in the 2019, 2021 and 2024 poll campaigns, but the Center is yet to fulfill its promise.” he said.

“BJP leaders like Shah describe the Rajbanshis as friends and make many promises when he comes to their areas to seek votes for the BJP candidates, but when he returns to Delhi after the polls are over, he forgets the community. This is true of Shah’s love for all communities, including the Matuas. This shows the true color of the deceitful BJP,” he said.

The Rajbanshis, descendants of the Koch dynasty, are the largest Scheduled Caste group in North Bengal; They are spread primarily in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling districts and have historically faced economic difficulties due to their involvement in agriculture as sharecroppers.

Their political importance stems from their advocacy of regional development and recognition of the Kamtapuri-Rajbanshi languages, and in the past they often demanded the establishment of a separate state or autonomous council under the banner of the Kamatapur movement.

Accusing Shah of being ignorant about the culture and heritage of Bengal’s indigenous communities, he alleged that Shah had misspelled the name of social reformer and community icon Panchanan Barma as Panchanan Barman while making another false promise in the past.

“We are yet to see the Panchanan Barma monument to be erected by the Center in Cooch Behar as promised by Amit Shah in an election rally years ago. It is another matter that he even distorted his name as Panchanan Barman, which has hurt the sentiments of every resident of Coochbehar and Bengal,” Banerjee said. he said.

He said Shah’s promise of developing a religious tourism hub by developing popular temples in Coochbehar is yet to see the light of day, while his assurance of setting up an AIIMS type hospital in North Bengal seems to have been put in cold storage.

“Also remember how many Bengali-speaking migrants from Coochbehar and other parts of Bengal, including Murshidabad and Malda, are being harassed for speaking Bengali in BJP-ruled states,” Banerjee said. he said.

He called it a “struggle between insult, humiliation and respect, asmita and dignity” and urged people to “teach the BJP a lesson in the polls”.

Accusing the BJP of deleting the names of lakhs of Bengalis from the SIR citing “under jurisdiction”, he said this included several lakh Hindu Bengalis.

Claiming that the state’s flagship social welfare scheme for women, ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’, will never be stopped when the Mamata Banerjee government returns to power, “a woman BJP leader said in Cooch Behar during the 2024 Lok Sabha poll campaign that she will stop ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ if the BJP comes to power in Bengal.”

He accused the Modi government of withholding Rs 2 lakh crore central fund dues for Bengal “to starve poor people in the state by obstructing social welfare and development projects”. However, our CM Mamata Banerjee has also devised other ways like collecting money from our own resources so that people are not deprived. That’s the difference between us and them.”

Accusing the BJP of peddling false propaganda to win votes, he said, “Don’t fall in the trap laid by the BJP and its allies. They want to divide people along ethnic, linguistic, and religious lines. Be alert.”

Elections for the 294-member Parliament will be held in two stages, on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.