New Delhi, April 10 The Trinamool Congress and Congress on Friday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) manifesto for the upcoming two-phased Assembly election in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP of treating Kolkata "as Bangladesh" while other opposition leaders accused the BJP of attempting to "allure voters" as the party's manifesto promised financial assistance to women and unemployed youth.
Notably, zero tolerance against infiltration, evolving a transparent and corruption-free state recruitment mechanism, economic progression, and women empowerment were among the top priorities in the BJP's election manifesto, also known as 'Sankalp Patra', released by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier on Friday.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said, "Earlier the BJP's poll manifesto was called 'Sonar Bangla Sankalp Patra', but now perhaps they believe Bengal has already become 'Sonar Bangla', so they have dropped that term and are simply calling it a 'Sankalp Patra'."
Addressing a press conference, the Trinamool National General Secretary noted that he had hoped Union Minister Amit Shah will first apologise to the people for the "situation created in West Bengal by the BJP and the Election Commission" due to the implementation of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
He drew a comparison between the BJP's manifesto proposals and the promises of higher returns on investment by chit fund or ponzi entities.
Moreover, Abhishek Banerjee alleged, "Today he (Amit Shah) has publicly accepted that if BJP comes to power in Bengal, then the state will be administered from Delhi. This everyone has seen."
During the BJP's poll manifesto release, Union Home Minister Shah had said, "Though we will not run from Delhi, but it will be good if the Bengal government is administered from Delhi. A government which is run from Bangladesh should not come to power in the state."
The Trinamool Congress General Secretary added, "That means (for BJP) Kolkata is Bangladesh, he (Home Minister Amit Shah) himself said this. If somebody views Bengal from the point of view of Bangladesh, they are the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Home Minister of this country."
On BJP's promise to provide Rs 3,000 per month in order to usher in women empowerment in West Bengal, NCP-SP MP Fauzia Khan said, "Wherever elections are being conducted in the country, the government goes and promises to give money to women. This reflects that women are poor."
"According to me this allurement of voters is wrong. Election Commission (EC) is also not taking any action on this. It (EC) has become a tool, a campaigner of the BJP," she told IANS.
"The democracy is in trouble as there is only hunger for power," Khan asserted.
Speaking to reporters, Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain said, "In 2014, 2019 and 2024 (BJP) released its poll manifesto at the all India level. How many of those promises have been fulfilled?"
He also accused the BJP of transferring money to welfare scheme beneficiaries just before the elections.
"Everywhere they (BJP) are sending Rs 5,000 or Rs 10,000 to people's accounts to bribe them in order to win the elections," Hussain said.
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