Farmers Movement Archive

Bengal farmers deprived, people want change: BJP president JP Nadda

MALDA/NABADWIP: BJP president JP Nadda turned the tables on Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee from a farmers’ feast in north Bengal on Saturday, pointing to the plight of the state’s farmers when the CM was focussing on the continuing stir at the Singhu border. “Mamata didi has done gross injustice to Bengal’s farmers. Caught in her ego, she didn’t allow the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. Her stubborn stance deprived 70 lakh Bengal farmers from getting benefits for more than two years. A farmer lost out on Rs 14,000 in the process,” Nadda said before having lunch with farmers at Sahapur village in Malda. The BJP president followed up the topic while flagging off the party’s “parivartan yatra” from Nabadwip in south Bengal and coined a slogan: “Onek hoyechhe Mamata, paribartan chaihhe janata (Enough of Mamata, people want change).” But he ended his speech with the “Jai Bharat, Jai Bangla” slogan that sounded similar to Banerjee’s. Hitting out at the CM’s late response, Nadda said: “After realising that 25 lakh farmers have applied online for PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the CM has said she wants to implement the scheme. She has missed the bus. People of Bengal have made up their minds to bring change,” he said. Nadda also cited a host of welfare schemes, namely Ayushman Bharat, Ujjwala Yojana and Soubhagya Yojana, and said: “Mamata ji stood as a wall to prevent the PM’s welfare schemes in Bengal. She says ‘hobe na, hobe na (won’t happen)’ at the drop of a hat. We will turn these noes into ayes after people of Bengal vote BJP to power.” Nadda then rolled out the PM’s new initiative for farmers such as introducing a direct farmer train from Bengal to Maharashtra and his allocation for 665 km of Bengal roads. The BJP president also took a dig at the Bengal CM over walking the extra mile for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. “The Congress since Jawaharlal Nehru took no interest in Netaji. Now, after the PM came to Kolkata to observe the 125th birth anniversary, the CM took the commemorative initiatives,” he said. The BJP president wondered why Banerjee got irritated after hearing the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan. “Mamata ji ko gussa kyun ata hai? As I came to this place, people shook hands and greeted me saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” he added. Nadda flagged off the “parivartan yatra” from Nabadwip, the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and also visited a Mahaprabhu temple. Prior to this, Union home minister Amit Shah was scheduled to pay a visit to the ISKCON temple in Mayapur, though he had to cancel his Bengal visit at the last moment. Nadda made light of the building tension in Malda following allegations that BJP party flags were being replaced by Trinamool flags. “I see people carrying photos of pishi and bhaipo wherever I go in Bengal. But people have decided to say namaste to bhaipo,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-02-07

Kolkata