Farmers Movement Archive

Bengal has set 3 dangerous trends in Indian politics: Amit Shah

West Bengal has set three trends in Indian politics - politicization of administration, criminalization of politics and institutionalizing corruption – Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday alleging that the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress had turned into a family-party. “West Bengal has set three dangerous trends in Indian politics - politicization of administration, criminalization of politics and institutionalizing corruption. All these three trends are dangerous for democracy and people of the state,” Shah said while urging the people to join the BJP juggernaut so that there could be change. He was on a two-day visit to West Bengal to bolster the BJP’s campaign in poll-bound Bengal. Shah has set a target of winning more than 200 out of the 294 seats in the state assembly. While the Trinamool Congress is desperately trying to highlight the development-work made by the Mamata Banerjee-administration in the past 10 years, Shah attacked the successive Left Front and TMC governments alleging that the rank of West Bengal has been sliding on various fronts including per capita income, state’s share in GDP and industrial production among others over the past few decades. “West Bengal used to rank number 1 on many fronts. But today its rank is below 20 on most fronts. Today the state is number one in corruption, nepotism, violence, in bomb making and explosion and killing of opposition workers,” Shah said. He said that not a single farmer has received central funds because the state didn’t send the list. The TMC supremo has been supporting the farmers’ protest against farm laws and Shah also attacked the state’s ruling party on that. “At least 2.3 million farmers from Bengal have applied online for Rs 6,000 a year from the Centre. You (Mamata Banerjee) just have to certify them but you are not even doing that. Sign them assuming that you are giving an autograph. Send a letter assuming that it is your nephew’s birthday. It would help many farmers,” he added.He alleged that the TMC’s main slogan of Ma Mati Manush (Mother, Soil and People) had given way to corruption, nepotism and appeasement. “Such things happen when the state’s leader instead of thinking about the 100 million voters thinks about her nephew and how to make him the next chief minister,” he added. Shah said that Bengal accounted for 30% of India’s industrial production during Independence and today it has come down 3.5%. Bengal’s per capita income was double than that of Maharashtra in the 1960s and today it is just half of Maharashtra. In the 1950s Bengal had registered 70% of India’s pharmaceutical production and today it is just around 7%. “I am sure TMC will challenge these data. Let me know the place and our youth wing leader will meet you there for a debate and tell you the source of this data,” he added

Hindustan Times

20-12-2020

India