Central forces to stay in Bengal for 60 more days after polls: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said central forces would remain deployed in West Bengal for 60 more days after the assembly elections, asserting that people should vote without fear of Didis goons in the final phase of polling.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said central forces would remain deployed in West Bengal for 60 more days after the assembly elections, asserting that people should vote without fear of ''Didi's goons'' in the final phase of polling. Shah made the remarks while addressing a gathering after leading a massive road show in Behala, where voting will take place in the second and final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections on April 29. The first phase of elections to the 294-member assembly was held on April 23, which recorded an all-time high turnout of 93 per cent. Votes will be counted on May 4. ''Brothers and sisters, go and vote on the 29th, do not worry about Didi's (Mamata Banerjee's) goons. The Election Commission has deployed CAPF at every nook and corner, and I am telling you that even though the BJP will come to power after the elections, central forces will remain here for 60 more days,'' he said. The road show, organised in support of BJP candidates for Behala Purba and Behala Paschim, turned the south Kolkata neighbourhood into a sea of saffron on the final day of campaigning. Standing atop an open-hood vehicle, Shah waved at supporters and showered flower petals on crowds lining both sides of the road. Thousands of BJP workers and supporters, carrying party flags and orange-green balloons, thronged the route, raising slogans of ''Jai Shri Ram'' and ''Bharat Mata ki Jai''. Later in the day, Shah took part in another road show at Chandannagar in Hooghly district, which also drew huge crowds and enthusiastic participation from party supporters. Addressing the gathering there, the home minister claimed there was a strong wave in favour of the BJP and said that once voted to power, the party would take strict action against infiltrators and those involved in political violence. ''I want to warn Didi's goons in Chandannagar – do not step out to intimidate voters on April 29. After May 4, the BJP will punish the culprits and hang them upside down,'' he asserted. Shah also accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of opposing the removal of infiltrators from electoral rolls, and alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress was protecting illegal immigrants for vote-bank politics. ''Didi feels pain when we say infiltrators must be removed. She is opposing SIR. Right now, names have been removed from electoral rolls, and after May 4, all infiltrators will be identified and removed from Bengal,'' he said. After concluding the road show, Shah said the BJP was poised to form the next government in the state, and reiterated the party's commitment to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). ''A BJP government is going to be formed. We will implement the UCC,'' the home minister said, adding that after May 4, no one will be allowed to practice polygamy. ''So far, there has been no major incident of violence. Not a single death has taken place. The elections are being conducted peacefully,'' he said. In one of his sharpest attacks against the TMC during the ongoing campaign, Shah invoked the Ram temple-Babri Masjid dispute, and referred to suspended TMC MLA and AJUP founder Humayun Kabir. He alleged that Banerjee, through Humayun Kabir, wanted to build a ''Babri Masjid'' in Bengal. ''Mamata Didi wants her associate Humayun Kabir to build a Babri Masjid in Bengal. Didi, listen carefully. Bengal is in India. We will never allow a Babri Masjid to be built in Bengal,'' Shah said. He also alleged large-scale corruption in social welfare schemes under the TMC government, and asserted that those responsible would not be spared if the BJP came to power. Shah said bringing the BJP to power in West Bengal was essential to transform the state into a ''Sonar Bangla'' and restore law and order, development and good governance.