Kolkata, 22 April (H.S.) : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections were not merely about voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but a mandate against illegal infiltration, corruption and crimes against women.

Addressing an election rally in the Dum Dum (North) Assembly constituency of North 24 Parganas district, Shah said that when voters press the button on the electronic voting machine during the second phase of polling on April 29, it would not only be to elect BJP candidates, but also to vote against illegal infiltration, corruption and atrocities against women.

During his speech, Shah also targeted the Congress and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. He said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also begun making irrelevant statements under Rahul Gandhi’s influence. Shah claimed that the Congress would witness its worst-ever result in Assam. He added that while the party might open its account in West Bengal, it would fail to reach double digits in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Shah accused the Trinamool Congress of turning Kolkata into a city of slums in order to shelter illegal infiltrators. Referring to Sandeshkhali and other parts of the state, he alleged that women were being harassed by illegal infiltrators, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee remained silent despite being a woman herself. He further alleged that many such infiltrators had now become Trinamool Congress leaders.

The Union Home Minister said that if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, economic revival and industrial development would be among the top priorities of the new government. He claimed that West Bengal was once the industrial hub of the country, but industries were now shutting down one after another or moving to other states. According to Shah, around 6,000 industrial units had either closed or shifted out of the state during the last 15 years, for which he blamed extortion rackets allegedly run by Trinamool Congress leaders.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh