Darjeeling:

After polling for three North Bengal seats in the opening phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19, the BJP’s Darjeeling candidate Raju Bista on Sunday said people settled in the northern reaches of the state never supported the ruling TMC and will do the same in these elections as well.

“Seeing the mood here, it feels like it is almost confirmed that I will be the MP from Darjeeling for the second time. Last time, the margin was four lakh, this time the BJP will win this seat by an even greater margin. This is because people from the mountains had never supported the ruling TMC or the previous governments in the state. The ruling party in the state has always wronged us, while also subjecting us to oppression. We have been giving them a befitting reply to them for the last 15 years and wil do the same this time as well,” Raju Bista told ANI on Sunday.

Darjeeling has been a BJP bastion since 2009. The TMC has never won the constituency.

Reminding the Trinamool Congress of the movement for a separate Gorkhaland state, during which Darjeeling experienced widespread violence in 2017, Raju Bista said the TMC has never posed a challenge to its electoral opponents in North Bengal.

“TMC has never posed a challenge in North Bengal. Gopal Lama is a good person but he has chosen the wrong symbol. This is because Gorkhas cannot stand this symbol. 11 people lost their lives in 2017 owing to this symbol. Bloodstains are on this symbol even today and people can see it. Do you see any TMC flag in their campaign? He is doing politics hiding his party flag,” the BJP MP said.

Expanding on the alleged neglect of the Bengal government towards Darjeeling, Raju Bista said, “Mamata Didi will not get a single seat in North Bengal. This is because she collects more than 20 per cent of revenue from us but sets aside a budgetary allocation of Rs 800 crore of which only Rs 400 crore is spent.”

On Bharatiya Gorkha Parajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) chief Anit Thapa, who has been campaigning for TMC candidate Gopal Lama in Darjeeling, Raju Bista said, “Anit Thapa is a confusion. That is because he is campaigning as a candidate without Gopal Lama. People are confused who to vote for. This is because he is campaigning under a different symbol. They are using TMC’s funds for their campaign. He is trying to strengthen his party.”

Accusing Anit Thapa of indulging in corruption in Darjeeling, Raju Bista said, “There has been massive corruption under Anit Thapa. He has indulged in multiple scams in education, ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme, and PM Awas Yojana. He diverted municipality and panchayat funds. After April 25, the CBI will start its investigation.”

“We are facing double corruption, from the TMC and the GTA,” he added.

Speaking about the alleged poor state of the tea gardens in West Bengal, Raju Bista accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of conspiring to shut down tea gardens.

“The situation across our tea gardens is grave. Mamata Didi wants our tea gardens to be shut down so that she sell off the land to mafias, who will construct big buildings here. This is her plan but we will not allow her to succeed in her designs. In 2021, the central government framed a law under which tea garden workers should get a minimum wage of Rs 350 and it also reinforces their right over their land. However, Mamata Didi has not implemented the law here,” the BJP candidate said.

On the work done by the central government in Darjeeling, Raju Bista said, “In Darjeeling, under the leadership of PM Modi, Rs 50,000 crore is being spent on infrastructure development. We have seen noticeable changes here in the last 10 years.”

“During the pandemic, when people were in distress, we got two doses of vaccines. People also received 5 kg of rice free of cost. This will continue for the next five years, till 2029, if we are elected. We have also received Rs 3,500 crore under the Har Ghar Jal scheme. We also received Rs 4000 crore to build a 5000-km stretch under the Gram Sadak Yojana. A new airport is also coming up at Bagdogra at a cost of Rs 3000 crore. Flyovers and highways are also being built to decongest traffic. We have not seen such work in the last 75 years, since Independence,” he added.

On a solution to the Gorkha problem in Darjeeling, the BJP candidate said, “In 2021, Bimal Gurung (founder of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) sided with the TMC out of compulsion. However, deep down, he was with the BJP. A few days ago, PM Modi said in Siliguri that our government at the Centre has solved many complicated problems. We are also close to arriving at a solution to the Gorkha problem.”

Expanding on his priorities for the constituency if elected again, Raju Bista said, “We have several issues to resolve. One is on reaching a permanent Constitutional solution…some of our Scheduled Tribes who have been left out of the Scheduled Tribes list should be included. Several developmental projects need to be implemented in the next five years.”

“The health facilities in Bengal is very poor. I will focus more on this sector. Secondly, Darjeeling and Kalimpong used to be education hubs in the past. There is a need to open more central institutes here,” he added.

Coming down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government for the alleged neglect towards tourism in Darjeeling, Raju Bista said there is a need to focus on youth employment in his constituency.

“Thirdly, I will focus on employment for youth because tea gardens are shutting down. There is no tourism activity here. The infrastructure needed to attract tourists is absent. The contribution of the Bengal government to this sector is almost nil. I want to skill our youth and get them employed in the tourism sector, MSMEs and startups,” Raju Bista said.

Also hitting out at TMC for allegedly smuggling drugs through the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, the narrow strip of land in Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of the country, Raju Bista said, “There’s been a noticeable rise in criminal and illegal activities in Chicken’s Neck stretch under the TMC. Drugs are making their way into schools, colleges and universities here. Our youth are getting distracted and need to be brought back on track.”

Darjeeling is scheduled to go to polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Dilip Ghosh attacked the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party in the state and said that the TMC government in West Bengal has repeatedly lied and given false figures regarding the funds provided by the centre to mislead the people.

Speaking to ANI, Dilip Ghosh said, “The WB government has repeatedly lied and given false figures (regarding funding given by the Centre to the state government) to mislead the people. I am saying that today everything is in the public domain, including what the central government is doing, what it is it giving and how much the state government gets.”

“The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has exposed a scam of Rs 229 crore, which the state government is yet to answer. That is the money of the poor people. The WB government should answer this first,” the BJP leader said.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and said that many projects have not been completed on time despite the Centre giving record amounts of money.

“The TMC government here doesn’t allow the implementation of central schemes in West Bengal. To establish medical colleges is the identity of the BJP. We want to establish a medical college in every district of the country. But the TMC government doesn’t allow us to do this in West Bengal. Despite giving record amounts of money to West Bengal, many projects are not completed on time due to TMC,” PM Modi said while addressing a public rally in Cooch Behar on Thursday.

The BJP candidate from Bardhaman Durgapur constituency also spoke on the Sandeshkhali incident earlier and said, “It is a matter of grave concern. The way women in Sandeshkhali have given their statements. All that cannot be imagined in any civilised society.”

“The atrocities towards the people in Sandeshkhali have been going on for years. The solution for that will be brought out. The truth will prevail and come to the fore,” he said.

Dilip Ghosh also hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her indecent use of words towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a public meeting on Thursday and said, “Mamata Banerjee speaks in this manner all the time. It has become a habit for her. It will not improve. This is being discussed now after the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force.”

“This use of indecent language in the atmosphere of West Bengal is because of Mamata Banerjee. Under her influence, all the big and small MPs and MLAs in the state speak in this manner. This goes on throughout the year. No one has given Mamata Banerjee the right to pollute the culture of West Bengal,” said Ghosh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday slammed the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, saying that while he calls for the removal of corruption, opposition parties such as the Congress and the Trinamool Congress call for saving “corrupt leaders.”

Prime Minister Modi also attacked the TMC government in West Bengal, saying it tried its best to protect the accused in the Sandeshkhali incidents that rocked the state and said that only the Bharatiya Janata Party can stop atrocities against women.

PM Modi said the BJP has resolved to ensure punishment for the accused in the Sandeshkhali incidents.

He also accused the Trinamool Congress government of not allowing the implementation of central schemes in West Bengal, adding that many projects have not been completed on time despite the Centre giving record amounts of money to the WB government.

This was the first rally of PM Modi in West Bengal after the Election Commission of India announced the poll schedule of the general elections on March 16.

The BJP has been attacking the Trinamool Congress over incidents in Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Local women accused the suspended TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of excesses, landgrabs, and sexual assault.

Shahjahan Sheikh has been remanded to Enforcement Directorate custody until April 13 in the case in which officials of the agency were attacked while they had gone to search his residence in the probe into the money trail in an alleged ration distribution scam.

There are 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) secured 22 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 18 and the Congress won two seats.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

After being on the run for 55 days, Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan was today arrested on charges of torture, sexual harassment, and land grabbing in Bengal’s Sandeshkhali. The arrest has sparked a political slugfest between the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In a late-night operation, a special team of the Bengal police arrested Sheikh Shahjahan from a house in North 24 Parganas district. The leader and his associates have been accused of sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali.

Soon after the arrest, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the state police went ahead with the arrest as soon as the legal hurdles were cleared.

“Due to a legal tangle, he couldn’t be arrested initially. However, after the court clarified that there was no stay on his arrest, the West Bengal Police did its job,” Mr Ghosh said.

Mr Ghosh accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier “embargo” on Sheikh’s arrest.

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday had directed that Sheikh could be arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), or the West Bengal Police. This decision came after Monday’s directive, where the court ordered the state police to arrest Sheikh within seven days.

“We had said he would be arrested in seven days as we were confident of the ability of the state police,” stated Mr Ghosh.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has dubbed the arrest a scripted drama. BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya claimed, “It was TMC and the state police which were shielding the culprits. He has been arrested now as a part of a well-scripted story.”

Main accused in the Sandeshkhali Case #SheikhShahjahan, who was on the run for more than 50 days, arrested.@Vasudha156 and @RatnadipC reporthttps://t.co/Ltj4mpb6Lapic.twitter.com/T6DG4x6vlM

— NDTV (@ndtv) February 29, 2024

The BJP had earlier alleged that Sheikh was in the “safe custody” of the state police since Tuesday night. The conflicting narratives between the two political parties have added fuel to the already intense political atmosphere in West Bengal.

The Sandeshkhali area, situated on the borders of the Sundarbans, has been gripped by unrest for over a month. The protests stem from accusations of sexual abuse and land grabbing against Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters.

Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had said that she has “never allowed injustice” and accused the Opposition party of inciting trouble on the island in North 24 Parganas district.

“I have never allowed injustice in my life. I sent (representatives of) the state women’s commission (to Sandeshkhali) immediately and 17 people have been arrested,” Ms Banerjee said in the Assembly, shortly after main Opposition BJP staged a walkout over the raging issue earlier this month.