- Trinamool criticised PM Modi's remarks linking Bihar victory to Bengal success
- PM Modi claimed Bihar's win paves the way for BJP's victory in West Bengal
- Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose accused BJP of insulting Bengal's icons and culture
The Trinamool Congress has hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on West Bengal during the BJP's celebrations for its mega Bihar election victory. Bihar has paved the way for the BJP's victory in Bengal, PM Modi had said yesterday, with the Trinamool asserting that the people of Bengal will never accept the BJP.
The BJP and JDU-led NDA swept the Bihar elections yesterday. PM Modi addressed his party's workers in the evening to extend congratulations, during which he spoke about Bengal, where the BJP had made deep inroads in the 2021 elections.
"The river Ganga flows to Bengal via Bihar. The victory in Bihar, like the river, has paved the way for our victory in Bengal," the prime minister said in his hour-long speech.
Sagarika Ghose, a Rajya Sabha MP, accused him of treating Bengal like another piece of land that would add to his party's records. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about conquering Bengal, conquest of Bengal, as if Bengal is another piece of land to add to his CV," the Trinamool MP said in a video message posted on her X handle this morning.
Ghose listed five points to counter the PM, asserting that Bengal will never accept the politics of 'saam, daam, dand, bhed', a four-part strategy from ancient Indian philosophy that includes persuasion, incentives, punishments, and creating divisions.
"You will do anything to grab power. You will pay money, use muscle, intimidation, and divide and rule. The people of Bengal will not accept this saam, daam, dand, bhed version of politics where you use all possible means, foul means, just to grab power," the Trinamool MP said.
Mamata Banerjee is not a "hawai neta" who flies in a "hawai jahaz" (aircraft), she said, drawing a comparison between the PM and the Chief Minister and her party's leader.
"She is there 24 hours among the people. She is the person who people turn to when they are in their hour of need. She is the person who is there during natural disasters. She is on the ground 24/7. No leader in India has done as much and has worked as tirelessly for the upliftment of women as Mamata Banerjee, both in terms of welfare and political representation," the MP asserted.
She called Bengal's Kanyashree program for girls a "lifelong commitment" of Trinamool, while referring to the women-centric schemes promised by the NDA in Bihar a "pre-election bribe to women" to win votes.
Ghose also alleged the central government has been denying funds due to Bengal in violation of the spirit of federalism since the state refuses to "dance to your tune."
She accused the government of branding migrant workers as "infiltrators," calling it the BJP's "dirty politics of divide and rule." Such "honest citizens" are trying to make a living but are being targeted because they speak Bangla, she alleged.
Ghose also slammed the BJP for "insulting" the Bengali identity and the language, asserting that the voters in Bengal will not tolerate this.
"The people of Bengal will not forget or forgive the manner in which your party taunts, mocks, insults and humiliates our language, our icons, our culture and tries to defame Bengal and Kolkata, tries to taunt our leaders and our icons who mean so much to our cultural sensitivities and our identity. You repeatedly insult the Bengal identity. No Bengal voter will tolerate this. We are the children of Vivekananda, of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, of Rabindranath Tagore. We will fight you and we will win. Jai Bangla," she added.
The BJP is banking on its best-ever performance in Bengal last time to secure another massive mandate next year and oust the Mamata Banerjee government. In the 2021 elections, the party had won 77 out of 294 seats, its highest ever in Bengal, while the Trinamool formed the government with 215 seats.
