Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said a sensible, responsible and secular government will come to power in New Delhi, which will address the issues of price rise and mounting unemployment.

He was addressing a gathering at Magrahat Purba in South 24-Parganas this afternoon. The area falls under Joynagar Lok Sabha constituency. Pratima Mondol, the sitting MP, has been nominated for the third time. The constituency will go for voting on 1 June.

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Abhishek said he had fixed the target of winning the Diamond Harbour seat by at least 4 lakh votes. He said, “In 2014, when Narendra Modi came to power, gas cylinders used to cost Rs 400, which has reached Rs 1000. One piece of egg used to cost Rs 2.50 and now it costs Rs 7. One kilo of tea, which used to cost Rs 100 in 2014 now costs Rs 280. No attempt has been made to control price rise,” he said.

Mr Banerjee said he had challenged Mr Modi to publish a white paper in March to announce how much money the Centre has given to the state government for Awas Plus schemes after 2021. “They have not given a single paisa. Modi did not accept my challenge. This is BJP’s nature. They create divisions among people but do not believe in development. The leaders are coming to the state like migratory birds and are speaking lies. Do not believe them,” he maintained.

Mr Banerjee said in Magrahat Purba, 79,000 women have received benefits under Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. Another 5,890 women have received money under the Rupashree scheme, while 3.29 lakh people have received free monthly ration. About 28,000 people have received financial assistance under the Swasthya Sathi card. “This is our report card. All-round development has taken place in south 24-Parganas. If the margin is more, the Diamond Harbour Model will be replicated in Joynagar, he said.

He said in South 24-Parganas all the Lok Sabha seats are under Trinamul Congress. They are Jadavpur, Mathurapur, Joynagar and Diamond Harbour.

He urged the people to cast their vote in favour of Pratima Mondol, the party’s nominee.

He assured the people belonging to the minority community by saying, “The state government will move the Supreme Court against the High Court order scrapping their rights under OBC category. Our chief minister has said that the facilities they enjoy will continue and the state government will move the Supreme Court. The high court has deliberately given the judgment when the election is on.”

He urged the people not to fall into the trap of the BJP. “They may try to create trouble before the election. Maintain cool and peace and cast your vote in favour of Trinamul Congress,” he said.