Trinamool Congress MP Kakali Ghosh Dstidar has continued her party’s narrative of calling BJP an “anti-Bengali” party. But going a step ahead from most of her party colleagues, the Barasat lawmaker alleged that the saffron party “doesn’t trust” its own leaders in Bengal.
At a press conference on Saturday, Ghosh Dastidar said, “The central leadership doesn’t trust the BJP leaders in Bengal. That’s why they are bringing imported leaders. I heard that they have brought some people from other state. Bengalis with intelligence will not take this conveniently.”
The tone of this attack is being seen as a double-edged at the hands of West Bengal’s governning party. While it attempts to create an unrest between BJP’s Bengali and non-Bengali camps, it will also paint the hindutva party as an outsider entity.
The attack on BJP comes after it decided to put central leaders in charge for Assembly Elections in West Bengal next year. The party has put five central leaders in as many organisational zones in the state.
It followed BJP’s decision to appoint the party’s IT-Cell chief Amit Malviya as West Bengal’s co-convener alongside Arvind Menon. They will play deputy to BJP General Secretary Kaliash Vijayvargiya, highlighting the desperation of the party to win the eastern state.
The plot to portray BJP as an “outsider” and “anti-Bengali” party has been made evident by back-to-back press conferences from a few heavyweight TMC leaders. They had somewhat similar theme of presenting BJP as an alien entity in West Bengal and invoking the ethno-nationalism pride among Bengalis.
“Why has BJP not given a full cabinet berth to any of its Bengal MPs? Their sole aim is to control Bengalis so that we remain subservient to them. Have things come to such a low that Bengal and Bengalis will bow down to them? Should Bengalis accept leaders from other states being imposed on us?” TMC minister Bratya Basu asked from one of the press conferences, reported India Today.
“Can they show one minister in UP or Gujarat with surname Chatterjee, Banerjee, Sen or Ganguly? Because they do not consider Bengalis living there as their own! Bengalis are considered outsiders there,
“North Indians have tried to corner Bengalis since the time Subhas Bose lost in Tripuri Congress the same is being repeated now with Mamata Banerjee. But she continues to fight just like Bose. Should Bengalis accept leaders from other states being imposed on them?” Basu, an eminent theatre personality in West Bengal, asked.
“Bengal always welcomes people from everywhere, but if outsiders show red eyes with some sinister designs here, then the state will not tolerate them. We are seeing that those who do not have any knowledge about the state”s heritage or culture are being sent here,” West Bengal Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya on Thursday had said.
“These people do not even know the districts or villages of Bengal. We have no problem if they want to visit the state for educating themselves since our state is a pilgrimage site for development in the country, but we have a problem if they are day-dreaming,” she added.