Kolkata, 22 April (H.S.) : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress during an election rally in West Bengal, accusing the state government of neglecting Bengal’s cultural heritage and presiding over industrial decline.

Addressing a public meeting in Burrabazar, Adityanath alleged that nearly 7,000 major industries had shut down during the Trinamool Congress regime, causing large-scale unemployment and pushing the state backward despite its once-leading position in several sectors.

Referring to Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral residence of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Adityanath said the state government had failed to give due respect to the poet’s legacy. He alleged that portraits of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had been placed at the heritage site, which he described as an insult to Tagore.

He said that apart from Rabindranath Tagore, only Bharat Mata should have found a place there, adding that the Trinamool Congress had little regard for Indian culture.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said Bengal, once known as a land of knowledge and renaissance, had witnessed the closure of 7,000 major industries and thousands of micro and small units, leading to the loss of around 30 lakh jobs.

Adityanath said that in the 150th year of Vande Mataram, West Bengal should restore its lost glory by removing the Trinamool Congress government and electing the Bharatiya Janata Party to power.

Invoking Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, he questioned what the ruling party had done to honour the memory of the author of Vande Mataram, which he described as a mantra of India’s freedom movement.

He accused the Congress, Left parties and the Trinamool Congress of decades of misgovernance, saying West Bengal had become a “graveyard of industries” and only a double-engine government could bring prosperity back to the state.

Adityanath also alleged that a senior Trinamool Congress minister had spoken of promoting Urdu. He said Bengali was the language of Kolkata and West Bengal, and that Bengali identity could not be compromised.

He further accused the state government of imposing restrictions on religious processions, saying Bengal was known for the worship of Goddess Kali, yet processions linked to Kali and Durga Puja were being curtailed.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also alleged that Mamata Banerjee objected to the name of Lord Ram and had opposed the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He asked voters whether they wanted a government that worked against the country’s cultural sentiments.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh