Mamata synonymous with 'intolerance': Nadda; TMC calls BJP most intolerant party

Exuding confidence about forming the next government in the state with more than 200 seats, Nadda gave the call to overthrow the corrupt TMC regime in the next assembly polls.The TMC was quick to hit back, by mocking the BJP national president of daydreaming and accusing the saffron party of being the most intolerant political outfit ever formed in the Independent India.

In the run-up to the assembly polls early next year, BJP president J P Nadda Wednesday took the battle against the Mamata Banerjee regime to her backyard by conducting a mass outreach programme and accusing the Chief Minister of being synonymous with ''intolerance'', drawing a sharp retort from the ruling TMC. Exuding confidence about forming the next government in the state with more than 200 seats, Nadda gave the call to ''overthrow the corrupt TMC regime in the next assembly polls''.

The TMC was quick to hit back, by mocking the BJP national president of ''daydreaming'' and accusing the saffron party of being the most ''intolerant political outfit'' ever formed in the Independent India. Buoyed by the BJP's good show in Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections in Rajasthan despite the continued farmers' protest at Delhi's borders, Nadda asserted farmers of the desert state have given a decision in favour of the Narendra Modi government and its policies.

Nadda, who arrived here on a two-day West Bengal visit, criticised ''dynastic politics'' of the ruling TMC and other parties in the country, and asserted for the BJP ''party is the family''. ''Today, I want to recollect what Syama Prasad Mookherjee had said about discipline and tolerance...it is very pertinent in the present situation in Bengal.

''For West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee...thy name is intolerance,'' he said after inaugurating nine party offices across various districts of the state. Nadda added,''Bengal has a special link to BJP. Bengal got two Rashtriya adhyaksh from Bengal. To save Bengal and keep it strong is our mission.

''Everyone knows the way Rabindranathji (Tagore) gave a vision to the country, but today intolerance is increasing in Bengal,'' the saffron party chief deplored. Nadda accused the Trinamool Congress government of ''minority appeasement''.

''When the entire country was watching 'Bhoomi Pujan' (of Ram temple in Ayodhya), Mamata imposed lockdown in West Bengal on August 5 to prevent people from being part of the occasion. ''In sharp contrast,lockdown was withdrawn for Bakr-Eid, on July 31. We don't have any problem with that, but why was puja stopped in the state on August 5.It shows appeasement politics drive the state government's policies,'' he remarked.

The BJP leader said he feels ''sad as well as embarrassed'' whenever he visits the state, which was once known for its distinct culture, but now was infamous for ''violence, corruption and nepotism''. Nadda said the BJP's victories in the Panchayati raj elections in Rajasthan and Bihar assembly polls have proved that rural India is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the policies of his government.

Urging party workers and leaders to fan out across the state with the message of development, Nadda said, ''The time has come to unmask the corrupt TMC and pack them off in the next assembly polls.'' Underscoring the BJP's astounding rise in the state, he said the party had a mere 2 per cent vote share in the 2011 assembly polls in West Bengal which went up to 18 per cent and two Lok Sabha seats in 2014. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party bagged 40 per cent votes and 18 seats, he said.

Nadda asked BJP workers to continue the momentum, so the party wins the 2021 polls with more than 200 seats in the 294 -member assembly. Referring to the political killings in the state, Nadda claimed more than 130 BJP workers had attained ''martyrdom'', and their sacrifices will not go waste.

''There is no end to the ongoing political violence in Bengal. Every day, our party workers are being attacked and killed. More than 130 BJP activists have been killed in acts that are against humanity,'' he said. Nadda asserted a BJP government alone was capable of creating a ''Sonar Bangla'' (Bengal made of gold) and assailed the Mamata Banerjee government for not joining several central schemes, including Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, denying their benefits to the poor and farmers.

Later in the afternoon, Nadda took part in a door-to-door campaign in Kalighat locality here, close to Chief Minister's residence as part of the massive public outreach the party has planned in the run-up to the state assembly election. He visited residences on the Girish Mukherjee Road, considered Banerjee's backyard in Kalighat, during the 'Griha Sampark Abhiyan' as part of the BJP's 'Aar Noi Annay' (No More Injustice) campaign and distributed pamphlets about atrocities of the TMC and various developmental politics of the union government.

Reacting to Nadda's comment on intolerance, TMC spokesperson and MP, Saugata Roy, accused the saffron party of being the most intolerant party of the country. ''The BJP and its national president should be the last person to talk about intolerance. All of us are well aware of the religious and political intolerance of the BJP in the last six years.

''BJP should stop daydreaming about coming to power with more than 200 seats in Bengal. The TMC would return to power with a two-thirds majority,'' Roy said. Meanwhile, when Nadda was inaugurating party office at Hastings, few people assembled near the building and waved flags, while demanding that farm laws be withdrawn. The situation turned worse when the BJP cadres also ran towards them, leading to a commotion.

The situation was,however, brought under control and both the groups dispersed after police intervened. The BJP president is scheduled to visit Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, the bastion of TMC Lok Sabha MP and Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee, on Thursday.

Assembly polls are likely in West Bengal in April-May next year..