TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy
New Delhi: “Bangali ra ghure darachche” (Bengalis are now ready to fight back), claimed Trinamul Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, claiming that “the self-identity of Bengalis will be threatened” if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal. He said the main reason for this was that the party was “controlled by non-Bengalis”.
Speaking exclusively to this newspaper in Kolkata, Roy claimed that even the Bengali middle class and intelligentsia, who had somehow “opposed” the TMC earlier, now realize that Bengal’s “asmita” (self-pride, self-identity) “will not be safe” under the BJP. The TMC MP claimed that even a section of Hindus who were inclined towards Left parties “will now turn towards TMC”.
When asked about the possibility of a split in the Muslim vote due to multiple factors, Roy said similar attempts had been made in previous Assembly polls. This time, the BJP is particularly focusing on Muslim-majority belts in Murshidabad, Malda, Dinajpur and Kolkata, among others, he said. Roy claimed that Muslims were “aware of this game plan.”
Talking about the voting pattern of minorities, Roy said: “The minority community suffers from insecurity at times and they tend to stick with the parties in power. So when the party was in power, they were with the Congress, then with the CPM-led Left Front and now with the TMC.”
Roy asserted that Muslims “will never vote for the BJP or vote in a way that gives an advantage to the party”. He claimed that despite the deletions under SIR, the remaining Muslims “will vote overwhelmingly in favor of TMC”.
Referring to the alleged “hate speeches” and “anti-minority rhetoric” of state BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, the TMC MP claimed that even Muslims who remain pro-Left “will vote for us now”.
The TMC MP then took a dig at the BJP’s desperate attempts to portray state leaders as preferring non-vegetarian food. He talked about the BJP’s moves to “implement” vegetarianism in the cow belt and even in Bihar. “All meat and fish shops in north India close during festivals like Navratri, Sri Rama Navami etc. This is the common policy of the BJP.” he said. When reminded that the BJP had assured that the party would provide a “non-vegetarian Chief Minister” if elected to power, Roy quipped: “Maybe only this Chief Minister and a few others will eat non-vegetarian food, while others will be forced to follow a vegetarian diet.”
Touching on the SIR issue, Roy said that deletion of 91 lakh names under SIR will not only affect the TMC but also other outfits, including the BJP. “All the 90 lakh names deleted were not just our voters, some of them voted for other groups, including the BJP,” he said.
Speaking about the claim that the process followed under the SIR to delete names was “illegal”, Roy claimed that it was “a blatant and dangerous attempt to render people stateless”. He said the Election Commission had not only failed to give people enough time to collect documents proving their eligibility but had also engaged in “gross abuse of power”.
Referring to the BJP’s attempt to build the narrative of illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh, Roy said he had repeatedly urged the Center in the Rajya Sabha to provide the state-level figure of “illegal infiltrators” in India. “No such data has been provided yet,” he said. He pointed out that Bengal’s demographic structure could change with a massive influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “No such evidence has yet been presented,” he added.
