Kolkata, Dec 20 The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for describing West Bengal as a “maha jungle raj”, alleging that his speech showed no concern for the Matua refugee community, which is facing uncertainty following the deletion of names from the draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Addressing the media, TMC spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the Prime Minister’s remarks lacked both vision and responsibility.
“PM Modi did not address the concerns of the Matuas. Members of the refugee community who migrated from Bangladesh decades ago due to religious persecution are living in fear. The SIR exercise has created anxiety over their identity and citizenship,” Ghosh said.
According to official data, 58,20,898 names have been excluded from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls under the SIR, reducing the electorate from 7.66 crore to 7.08 crore.
Ghosh further accused the Prime Minister of remaining silent on incidents in which alleged Indian citizens were deported to Bangladesh by police forces in BJP-ruled states. He referred to the case of Sunali Khatun, a pregnant Bengali migrant woman who returned to India on December 6 after allegedly being pushed into Bangladesh in June, following judicial intervention.
Taking a swipe at the Centre over stalled welfare schemes, Ghosh said the Prime Minister failed to explain why funds for central projects meant for the poor in Bengal were blocked.
“Why has the Centre deprived the rural poor of building houses? Why has the drinking water project been stalled? The Mamata Banerjee government is mobilising its own resources to continue these projects,” he said.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty also criticised the Prime Minister over the SIR process.
“PM Modi has realised that members of the Matua community are unhappy with both the BJP and the TMC for treating them as a vote bank while failing to resolve the citizenship issue. That is why he avoided speaking on their concerns,” Chakraborty said.
Senior Congress leader and former MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also took a dig at the Prime Minister, accusing him of visiting Bengal only ahead of elections.
“PM Modi does this everywhere. He comes before elections and tries to generate political heat with explosive statements. He is not concerned about the welfare of the people of Bengal,” Chowdhury said.
Earlier in the day, while virtually addressing a rally, PM Modi said just like the rule of the jungle has ended in Bihar, similarly, the current reign of terror will end in Bengal if the BJP comes to power.
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