Jalpaiguri, April 18 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, campaigning in poll-bound West Bengal on Saturday, accused opposition parties of blocking the Nari Shakti Vandan Amendment Bill in Parliament and termed it an “insult to half the population of the country”.
Addressing election rallies at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district and at Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district, Yogi Adityanath alleged that “advocates of Bangladeshi infiltrators” did not allow the Bill -- which seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies -- to pass. He said women across the country “will not tolerate this insult”.
Targeting the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee, the UP Chief Minister claimed that law and order in West Bengal had deteriorated and asserted that people “need not live in fear anymore”, as the BJP seeks to form a “double-engine government” in the state.
He further alleged that parties including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the Trinamool Congress opposed the women’s reservation Bill and were prioritising “appeasement politics” over women’s rights.
According to him, the inclusion of “infiltrators” in voter lists in Bengal was depriving the poor of their entitlements.
CM Yogi also accused the state government of failing on multiple fronts, including employment, agriculture and industry.
He claimed that over 7,000 factories had shut down during 15 years of Trinamool rule, while alleging that farmers were not receiving fair prices and that youth unemployment remained high.
Drawing comparisons with Uttar Pradesh, he said his government had improved law and order, curbed riots and taken strict action against organised crime.
He also referred to the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, stating that it provides citizenship to persecuted minorities such as Hindus, Jains and Sikhs from neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh.
The Chief Minister further accused the state government of restricting religious expressions, alleging that slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” invite reprisals and that permissions for festivals such as Durga Puja are curtailed -- claims frequently denied by the state administration.
Invoking Bengal’s cultural legacy, the UP Chief Minister paid tribute to icons such as Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Subhas Chandra Bose, and called for “restoring the state’s glory”.
He appealed to voters to support BJP candidates, including Nisith Pramanik, Savitri Burman and Naresh Chandra Roy, and reiterated his pitch for a “double-engine government” in West Bengal.
The Chief Minister also held a roadshow in Bankura and thanked people for their enthusiasm and affection.
"On May 4, the darkness of TMC in West Bengal will lift, and the sun of BJP will rise," he told the residents of Bankura.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor