Farmers Movement Archive

'BJP wants to establish 'Ram rajya' in Bengal': Suvendu Adhikari in Nandigram

The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to establish 'Ram rajya' (rule of lord Ram), in West Bengal by winning the coming assembly polls, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday at a rally at Nandigram in East Midnapore district. He was the legislator from Nandigram before resigning from the assembly and joining the BJP on December 19.Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has announced that she will contest the seat alongside Kolkata’s Bhawanipore, her old seat.Adhikari’s statement came days after the BJP ran into a major controversy when some supporters raised the “Jai Sri Ram” slogan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme in Kolkata where legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose’s 125th birth anniversary was celebrated on January 23.“Many people contest an election but only one wins. I believe in the politics of inclusiveness wherein the victor treats the losers as part of the democratic system and treats them with respect. Our Prime Minister is the Prime Minister of all people. This is lacking in West Bengal. At the birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose, the chief minister said the “Jai Sri Ram” slogan was raised to insult her. Nothing can be more sacred than Ram’s name,” said Adhikari.Also read: Explained - As tractor rally turns violent in Delhi, what farmers wantIncidentally, on Tuesday, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the (BJP), said it does not support the raising of the slogan at the event and called for identification of those involved.“Ram rajya means good ministration that treats Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians equally. Everybody gets two square meals a day, a roof on the head and a job. But our chief minister gets angry when she hears the name of 'Ram' while her nephew flares up when we call him extortionist,” Adhikari said at the rally which was held in support of the three farm laws that triggered an unruly agitation in Delhi on Tuesday.Following Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J P Nadda, Adhikari had lunch at the home of a local farmer.“Many people ask why Suvendu Adhikari joined the BJP. I was insulted for a long time in the TMC. Ministers and leaders mean nothing in the TMC. Only one post matters. Others have to follow orders. I have my spine intact. I could not accept it. Amit Shah welcomed me into the BJP,” said Adhikari and took jabs at the TMC by accusing its leaders of stealing money from the relief meant for victims of cyclone Amphan and food sent by the Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.“The TMC’s boat is sinking. Nobody can save it now. The party’s young leader wears expensive shoes and uses high-end phones and SUVs,” said Adhikari without taking any name. “BJP workers are ready. I am ready to take on the challenge. I know the ground reality in Nandigram. My roots go deep,” said Adhikari, adding that the BJP will decide who will contest from Nandigram.“It is essential that the same party rules the nation and Bengal. Unless you drive out the TMC people won’t get jobs,” said Adhikari.On December 19, Adhikari and six sitting TMC legislators, a TMC Lok Sabha member, three MLAs from the Left and Congress and at least 20 other district-level leaders of the ruling party joined the BJP at Shah’s rally in Midnapore town. This marked the biggest defection of elected TMC leaders in the run-up to the assembly polls due in about five months.No TMC leader was willing to react to Adhikari’s statements.

Hindustan Times

26-01-2021

Kolkata