Kolkata:
Bharatiya Janata Party chief Sukanta Majumdar is confident about the party’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, saying it would win more seats if it gets one more seat than the Mamata Banerjee-led party. The TMC government will not complete its full term until 2026.
Majumdar claimed that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was an ideological issue for the Bengal BJP, similar to the Ram Mandir issue in the central unit, and the bill would help the party’s electoral campaign in the state Winning a big victory.
Speaking to PTI, Majumdar said the people of the state have decided to defeat the corrupt and anarchic TMC in the LS polls.
“We have set a target of winning 35 seats from Bengal. We are confident about it. If we get one more seat than the TMC seat we will get, the Mamata Banerjee government will not be able to complete its full term until 2026 . Its government will collapse,” he said.
In April last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set a target of winning 35 of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats. Majumdar, however, said the party was not responsible for the collapse and that the TMC’s “dynastic politics” was the reason for its downfall.
“We are not the reason for the collapse of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra; rather, it was Uddhav Thackeray’s love for his son and NCP chief Sharad Pa Val’s love for his daughter caused it. It was dynastic politics. It led to the collapse.” “In Bengal, love for a nephew also leads to its collapse. If you try to give something to an unworthy person, everything gets messy. ,” he was apparently referring to the TMC’s statement. National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee.
The BJP currently has 74 MLAs in the 294-member state assembly, seven of whom have switched to the TMC camp but have not resigned from their posts. TMC has 217 MLAs.
Talking about the CAA issue, MP Balughat said that the bill will be a huge relief to the persecuted Bengali Hindus currently staying in the state as “West Bengal is a state for the persecuted Bengali Hindus ’s only home”. “CAA is more of an ideological issue than a political issue for the Bengal BJP, just like Ram Mandir is an ideological issue for the Centre. Persecuted Hindu Bengali refugees will What happens? If we don’t do this, where will they go? Give them citizenship?” he said.
Asked whether CAA would be politically helpful to the BJP in Bengal, Majumdar said, “The political advantage of CAA is a by-product”. “Yes, it will help us sweep the elections in Bengal. However, the political or electoral advantage of CAA is just a by-product. Even if it goes against us politically, we will continue to implement CAA because that is what we are doing in “CAA” Protect Bengali Hindus who have been living in Bangladesh for quite some time,” he said.
Responding to the allegations that the CAA was implemented before the elections to reap political dividends, Majumdar gave a negative reply.
“The CAA was not informed by certain political interests as claimed by Mamata Banerjee or other opposition leaders. This was a promise made by the Congress leaders during independence and we are fulfilling it now ,”He said.
The CAA’s rules were announced on March 13, and the government will now start granting immigrants to persecuted non-Muslims — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. -Grant Indian citizenship. In India before December 31, 2014.
Talking about TMC’s opposition to CAA, Majumdar said the Mamata Banerjee-led party is trying to create fear among minorities over the issue.
“TMC is provoking Muslims and trying to divide the country along communal lines. But let me tell you one thing, Muslims in the state are not willing to believe TMC’s theory this time too. They have called the bluff. And no state government can stop the Congress a law passed,” the 44-year-old BJP leader said.
Muslim voters constitute nearly 30% of the total electorate and in the past few elections, all Muslim voters voted for the TMC.
Majumdar sought to allay concerns over the NRC, saying, “The NRC has not been discussed at all, so how can we draw conclusions based on something that has not happened yet.” When asked about Muslims being excluded from the CAA, Majumdar said it was because of religion There is a clear line between refugees who come here as a result of persecution and illegal infiltration and those who come here for better economic conditions.
“Our policy is clear, for example, regarding the Rohingya, we have stated that these immigrants do not have the fundamental right to live in the country,” he said.
Referring to the issue of Matua group advising its members not to apply for citizenship under the new law for the time being, Majumdar said, “This issue has been resolved as many of them do not have the documents required to prove their previous residential address in Bangladesh”. for the time being. ” Talking about the Bengal BJP polls, he said: “The corruption and incidents in Sandesh Khali will be the Achilles heel of the TMC. “The TMC is running one of the most corrupt governments in the state and with Sandeshkhali’s revelations, the tyranny taking place in West Bengal is evident. The people will vote against this tyranny of the TMC,” said the former botany professor.
The Sandeshkhali district on the edge of the Sundarbans has been in turmoil for more than a month as TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his associates were accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
