Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Dilip Ghosh attacked the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party in the state and said that the TMC government in West Bengal has repeatedly lied and given false figures regarding the funds provided by the centre to mislead the people.
Speaking to ANI, Dilip Ghosh said, “The WB government has repeatedly lied and given false figures (regarding funding given by the Centre to the state government) to mislead the people. I am saying that today everything is in the public domain, including what the central government is doing, what it is it giving and how much the state government gets.”
“The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has exposed a scam of ₹ 229 crore, which the state government is yet to answer. That is the money of the poor people. The WB government should answer this first,” the BJP leader said.
This comes after West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress government came under fire from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, claiming that despite the Center providing unprecedented funding, many projects have not been finished on schedule.
“Central schemes cannot be implemented in West Bengal by the TMC government here. The foundation of medical colleges is the BJP’s identity. Every district of the nation is to have a medical college established by us. However, we are not permitted to do this in West Bengal by the TMC government. PM Modi stated at a public rally in Cooch Behar on Thursday that “many projects are not completed on time due to TMC, despite giving West Bengal record amounts of money.”
The BJP candidate from Bardhaman Durgapur constituency also spoke on the Sandeshkhali incident earlier and said, “It is a matter of grave concern. The way women in Sandeshkhali have given their statements. All that cannot be imagined in any civilised society.”
“The atrocities towards the people in Sandeshkhali have been going on for years. The solution for that will be brought out. The truth will prevail and come to the fore,” he said.
Dilip Ghosh also hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her indecent use of words towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a public meeting on Thursday and said, “Mamata Banerjee speaks in this manner all the time. It has become a habit for her. It will not improve. This is being discussed now after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force.”
“This use of indecent language in the atmosphere of West Bengal is because of Mamata Banerjee. Under her influence, all the big and small MPs and MLAs in the state speak in this manner. This goes on throughout the year. No one has given Mamata Banerjee the right to pollute the culture of West Bengal,” said Ghosh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, saying that while he calls for the removal of corruption, opposition parties such as the Congress and the Trinamool Congress call for saving “corrupt leaders.”
Prime Minister Modi also attacked the TMC government in West Bengal, saying it tried its best to protect the accused in the Sandeshkhali incidents that rocked the state and said that only the Bharatiya Janata Party can stop atrocities against women.
According to PM Modi, the BJP has decided to see that those responsible for the Sandeshkhali incidents face consequences. In addition, he charged that despite the Center providing the West Bengal government with unprecedented sums of money, the Trinamool Congress government was preventing the execution of central schemes in the state. He said that numerous projects had not been finished on schedule. This was PM Modi’s first rally in West Bengal following the Election Commission of India’s announcement on March 16 regarding the general election schedule.
The BJP has been attacking the Trinamool Congress over incidents in Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Local women accused the suspended TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of excesses, landgrabs, and sexual assault.
Shahjahan Sheikh has been remanded to Enforcement Directorate custody until April 13 in the case in which officials of the agency were attacked while they had gone to search his residence in the probe into the money trail in an alleged ration distribution scam.
There are 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 22 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 and the Congress won two seats.