Bengal will reply to bombs with votes, form double-engine govt: Shah
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Birbhum/Raniganj (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the people of West Bengal will reply to bombs and bullets with votes, and pledged the BJP would "hang the syndicate and cut money promoters upside down to make them straight" once the voters "bid adieu to the TMC government".
Addressing poll rallies in Mayureshwar and Khayrasole areas of Birbhum district and in Paschim Bardhaman's Raniganj, he said the writing on the wall is that the BJP will form a government in Bengal as the people of the state have decided to bid "Ta Ta Bye Bye" to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"Let the people bid adieu to the Mamata government. The BJP will then take up the task of hanging the syndicate and cut-money promoters upside down to make them straight," Shah said.
Alleging that TMC-sheltered criminals have tortured BJP workers in Bengal for a long time, the home minister said that after May 5, a day after counting of votes, saffron party workers will drag their torturers out of the netherworld and bring them to justice.
"I advise TMC goons to stay in their homes on April 23 (the first phase of polling), else we will pick them up one by one on May 4 and throw them in jail."
Birbhum will go to the polls in the first phase on April 23. The second phase of polling is on April 29, and the counting of votes will be held on May 4.
Referring to his party's poll manifesto, Shah said, "Once in power, the BJP will build five industrial estates in Bengal to facilitate investment flow into the state."
Accusing Banerjee of trying to "terrorise" the state's majority community, Shah said this assembly election is to drive out infiltrators from Bengal and also from the rest of the country.
"Didi, we have been living here for centuries. Who are you to intimidate us?" Shah asked, alleging that riots took place in Murshidabad, attacks were perpetrated on Ram Navami processions, and Saraswati Puja was not allowed at some places under Mamata Banerjee's rule.
Alleging that the Congress and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee supported keeping Ram Lalla inside a tent for 550 years, the former BJP chief pointed out that "PM Modi built Ram temple in Ayodhya".
"Humayun Kabir is Mamata Banerjee's stooge. He wants to build Babri Masjid in Bengal, but the BJP will never allow it," Shah said.
The Union home minister targeted the Mamata Banerjee government over the issue of illegal immigration, asking, "Can the chief minister or her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee) throw infiltrators out? They do not even allot land for border fencing."
"Mamata Banerjee is not giving land for border fencing, but blaming the BSF for infiltration in Bengal," Shah told a rally in Paschim Bardhaman's Raniganj.
The BJP will finish the task of land allotment for fencing India's borders with Bangladesh within 45 days of assuming power in West Bengal, Shah said. "And not just from Bengal, we will pick infiltrators one by one from the whole country and throw them out."
"The Manmohan Singh government, supported by Mamata Banerjee's TMC, never took firm action against Pakistani terrorism. Instead, they treated the terrorists with biryani," he said.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the conduct of Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam attack and hit Pakistan where it hurt them the most, the Union home minister said.
"The Modi government crushed Naxalism in the country, and now it is time for infiltrators to be thrown out."
Shah reiterated his party's resolve to implement a Uniform Civil Code in the state. "Once enforced, the UCC will put an end to the practice of certain members getting married four times," the home minister said.
He lashed out at the TMC for allegedly indulging in scams and claimed the party embezzled money to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore.
"They were responsible for the cash-for-query scam in Parliament, for taking away the jobs of 26,000 school teachers, for SSC and civic body recruitment irregularities, cattle smuggling, ration distribution scam, as well as stealing MNREGA and PM Awas money. We will make the scamsters return every penny to the people after we come to power," the former BJP chief said.
Shah took on the chief minister for her alleged comments on women in public spaces post sundown.
"Shame on Mamata Banerjee for saying that women should stay at home after 7 pm. We will ensure an environment where young girls can ride their scooties at 1 am," Shah said.
He promised that there would be no repeat of Sandeshkhali, R G Kar, South Calcutta Law College and Durgapur Law College-like incidents under BJP rule in the state.
Referring to the BJP's poll manifesto, the home minister pledged the enforcement of the 7th pay commission recommendations for government employees within 45 days, Rs 3,000 per month to women and unemployed youth, Rs 21,000 to pregnant women, and Rs 2,000 to specially-abled people.
"There will be 33 per cent women's reservation in government jobs, free rides for women in state buses and Rs 5 lakh free health insurance cover under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. We will also increase the annual grant to farmers to Rs 9,000," he said.
"Mamata Banerjee's only aim is to elevate her nephew to the chair of the chief minister. Modiji, on the other hand, aims to empower the youth of Bengal," he said.
Shah said that once a 'double-engine' government is formed, Central funds would reach the people of the state and several welfare schemes would be implemented for the women, youths and the poor. "Mamata Banerjee says Bengal will be run from Delhi; I tell her that after poll results, the state's chief minister will be the son of the soil, and not from the TMC," he added.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
