The political battle in West Bengal escalated on Sunday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress over law and order, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged voters to “take revenge” over alleged deletions from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
West Bengal is set to vote in two phases on April 23 and 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.
Modi flags Malda incident, calls it ‘maha jungleraj’
Addressing an election rally in Cooch Behar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the recent picketing of judicial officers in Malda as a sign of “maha jungle raj” under the TMC government, news agency PTI reported.
“When even judicial officers are not safe, how can you expect that common people will be safe under TMC rule? What happened in Malda is an example of TMC’s maha jungle raj,” Modi said, referring to the incident where judges were allegedly held for hours during protests over voter roll revisions.
He further alleged that “democracy is bleeding every day on the sacred soil of Bengal” and accused the Mamata Banerjee government of being “hell-bent on murdering law and order”.
The Prime Minister also linked the issue to broader concerns of infiltration and governance. He claimed there had been a “dangerous demographic change” in border areas and alleged that infiltrators were being protected by TMC networks.
‘TMC’s time is up’, says PM, promises action
Stepping up his attack, Modi said the turnout at his rally indicated that “the Trinamool Congress’s time is up”, a separate ANI report stated. “In this election, fear will be driven out of Bengal. Confidence will awaken through the BJP’s grand victory,” he said, urging voters not to be intimidated.
He warned of action after the results: “After May 4, the law will take its course, no matter how big a goon it may be, this time justice will be served.”
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