Chief minister Mamata Banerjee scorned at BJP calling it on Tuesday even more dangerous than the Naxalites while addressing a rally in Purulia, which was once the hotbed of Left-wing extremism.

She castigated the BJP for being absent during the ‘bloodshed’ in Junglemahal where, she claimed, numerous Naxalites and KLO ultras have surrendered and returned to mainstream and the government has provided them jobs.

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“It is we who have restored peace in Junglemahal and today, hotel, ITI, medical college, university, freight corridors, industrial hub and tourism centres have come up,” she said.

TMC has inducted Chhatradhar Mahato,a former leader of Maoist-backed People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), who had hogged the limelight during the Lalgarh movement in the tribal-dominated Junglemahal area at the fag end of the erstwhile CPI(M)-led Left Front rule in the state.

Claiming that TMC is not perturbed over desertions by some leaders, she said politics is a solemn ideology and philosophy and one cannot change these everyday like clothes. Accusing the BJP of false promises before election, she alleged that people in plight did not find BJP’s respective MPs during the precarious situation of Covid and questioned their quantum of work after the BJP MPs were elected in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Terming the desertions as “good riddance”, she said these leaders would have disturbed the party if they remained in the TMC.

Taking a dig at Union Home minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda over their lunch at homes of minorty communities, she said, “ Have you ever seen that Dalits, tribals, farmers of our state provide drinking water of premium brands costing Rs100 mineral to the guests. The food was ordered from fivestar hotels and the common people have been fooled.”

On the recent controversy regarding Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami, she said that Pulwama has been exposed and very soon, notebandi (demonetisation) and other issues will totter out in the open. Before the 2019 Lok sabha elections in the country, the Trinamool Congress supremo had raised some serious questions about the timing on the issues of Pulwama blast on CRPF convoy and Balakot surgical strike.

The purported WhatsApp message between Goswami and former BARC CEO, Partho Goswami which has been filed in the supplementary charge sheet by Mumbai Police to court went viral a few days ago and has rocked the national politics.

Opposition like the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have raised serious questions on the Chatgate row and demanded a JPC probe and today the Miss Banerjee also demanded the same.

Assuring Tollywood actor Saayoni Ghosh, who has been threatned over phone, she said, “We will provide all help to the Tollywood actors and actresses. They can express their independent views.”.

She railed at the BJP calling it ‘a party of fake video, fake IT and fake promises’, and called to attention their silence regarding the Rs15 lakh that the saffron party promised before the 2014 Lok Sabha poll and the assertion of prime minister Narendra Modi on retrieving black money from foreign countries.

She said class XII students in the state will get Rs 10,000 each in their bank account “within a day or two” for buying tablets or smartphones for their studies in the virtual mode. Asserting that Purulia has never bowed to the outsiders, Miss Banerjee said the TMC government has done everything for the development of the adivasis, including formation of West Bengal Santhal Academy, apart from giving recognition to their language Ol Chiki.

She said thousands of jobs will be created with the Dankuni-Amritsar freight corridor route passing through Raghunathpur in Purulia and an industrial park coming up in Joypur in the district.

The trainers of the self help groups demand during the meeting at Hutmura irked Miss Banerjee today, but later she took their memorandum and said she will try to address their issues. From job to drinking water she has promised to look after the people of Purulia and has urged them to vote for TMC.

The party will fight against the farm laws and claimed that the laws will ‘take the crop away from farmers’.

But most significantly, Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy, the newly appointed TMC vicepresident was present in the meeting at the dais along with Miss Banerjee and she claimed that there are certain issues that can be settled within the party and no need of intervention of the outsiders.

Through Roy the TMC supremo had tried to send a message to the other party dissidents, feels political observers. A multitude came to attend her public meeting today. (with agency inputs)