Abhishek slams Shah over 'Sonar Bangla' pitch, funds issue; invokes Vidyasagar's legacy
Kolkata (PTI): TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday launched a blistering attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his 'Sonar Bangla' poll pitch, accusing the BJP-led Centre of withholding Rs 2 lakh crore in dues to West Bengal and "disregarding" state's cultural icons.
Addressing the media at Vidyasagar College on the 205th birth anniversary of 19th-century social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Banerjee criticised Shah for not visiting the college, where the icon's statue was broken during a rally before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, or paying homage to the educationist during his trip to Kolkata.
"First, you should ask Amit Shah - when will you release our funds worth Rs 2 lakh crore that you owe to us? If he says AITC is lying, then ask him to choose any channel of his choice and I will come for a debate with facts and figures," Banerjee told reporters.
The comments came hours after Shah inaugurated the Durga Puja celebrations at Santosh Mitra Square in north Kolkata, where he said he prayed before Goddess Durga for the emergence of a government in Bengal after the next assembly polls that would transform the state into 'Sonar Bangla' (Golden Bengal).
"I have prayed before Maa Durga that after this election, a government should be formed in Bengal that can build Sonar Bangla. Bengal should once again become safe, prosperous, peaceful, abundant and fertile. And we should be able to build the Bengal of Kavi Guru Rabindranath Tagore that he had envisioned," Shah said at the event.
Countering him, Banerjee said the BJP has failed to replicate its "golden" promises in states where it has been in power.
"He talks about Sonar Bangla, but did they make Sonar Bihar? Were they able to make Sonar Gujarat, Maharashtra, or UP? They are using our funds in all these BJP-ruled states," Banerjee remarked.
The TMC leader used the occasion to remind Shah of the 2019 incident, when Vidyasagar's statue inside the college was vandalised during a BJP rally.
"The broken statue is still kept inside. Do pay your respects when you go in. People of Bengal gave a befitting response to those who tried to impose North Indian culture here and broke Vidyasagar's statue," he said.
Banerjee said he was "deeply saddened" that Shah did not take the time to visit Vidyasagar's house or the college despite being in the vicinity.
"This is why we call them Bangla-Birodhi. Our political battles will continue, but the way they insult Bengal's stalwarts cannot be forgotten," he said.
Taking a swipe at the BJP leadership, Banerjee alleged that they often misrepresent or remain ignorant of Bengal's cultural history.
"They don't know where Rabindranath Tagore was born. They mispronounce Panchanan Barma. They are unaware of the contributions of Vidyasagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, or Khudiram Bose. We do not need to learn about Bengal's culture from them," he asserted.
He also pointed out that the very festival once questioned by Shah has now earned global recognition.
"The person inaugurating a Durga Puja pandal today is the same person who said five years ago that there are no Durga Pujas in Bengal. Today, that very Durga Puja has been recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage site. No other festival or celebration from BJP-ruled states has received such recognition," Banerjee said.
Banerjee also invoked a Calcutta High Court order earlier in the day, which set aside the deportation of six persons, including a pregnant woman from Birbhum, calling it an example of how Bengali-speaking people were allegedly targeted under central directives.
"On Vidyasagar's birth anniversary, along with the slap that the High Court has delivered today, they must apologise first to the people of Bengal," he said.
Shah during his speech had also paid tribute to educationist and social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his birth anniversary.
Touching upon civic issues, Banerjee defended the state government's handling of heavy rainfall in Kolkata earlier this week.
"If we get 300 mm rainfall in four hours, naturally there will be difficulties. But look at Bengal's resilience. In 48 hours, we have bounced back. Despite such rainfall, how is Shah moving freely from one place to another? If the city was under water, how is he roaming around? This shows that if the government is determined, it can work, and our government has done so," he said.
Asserting that the TMC worked for people's welfare throughout the year, the TMC Lok Sabha leader contrasted its governance model with what he termed as the BJP's "political rhetoric".
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
