South 24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India], April 28 : Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw criticised the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, alleging delays in granting permission for a Kolkata Metro project and describing the state government as "anti-development."
He also expressed confidence that a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government would be formed in West Bengal after the state elections.
Speaking to the reporters on Monday, Vaishnaw said, "...The TMC government is an anti-development government. Chingrighata in Kolkata is a place where we have been building a diversion for the Kolkata Metro for many years, but the TMC government has not given permission to work there."
"We approached the High Court and the Supreme Court; the courts said the metro should be built. Now, on May 4, this (TMC) government will go, and a BJP government will be formed, and then we will immediately restart that work and move it forward," he added.
The remarks come amid heightened political activity in West Bengal as the state moves through successive phases of polling. During phase 1 polls, West Bengal recorded a significantly high voter turnout of 91.78 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India.
The high turnout figures underline an active electoral exercise as polling drew to a close amid tight security arrangements across constituencies.
The polling for the second phase is scheduled to be held on April 29, while the counting of votes will take place on May 4.
Meanwhile, political rhetoric has intensified in the state. A day earlier, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had also projected a decisive political shift, claiming that public sentiment is strongly against the ruling TMC.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi, the Union Minister didn't mince words regarding the performance of the Mamata Banerjee-led government, characterising it as a regime that has failed across multiple sectors of the electorate.
Pradhan emphasised that the high voter turnout witnessed in the initial stages of the election serves as a harbinger for the BJP's success. He categorised the current administration as being fundamentally disconnected from the needs of the state.
"Change will happen in Bengal... This time, the government that is anti-people, anti-women, anti-farmer, anti-youth, and gives importance to infiltrators is certain to go. There was good voter turnout in the first phase. A good number of seats are coming in favour of the BJP. Especially, seeing the kind of public support in the second phase, there is no doubt in anyone's mind. The TMC government is going, and a new BJP government is going to be formed," he said.
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