Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya rips apart TMC over development issue, announces rally to counter TMCs Martyrs’ Day

Kolkata: Samik Bhattacharya, the president of Bengal BJP unit slammed the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday over the issue of North Bengal's development.

He raked up the issue and once against attacked TMC, alleging that the ruling dispensation in Bengal had been depriving the northern portion of the state. Notably, the BJP has a good foothold in the region, having won several Lok Sabha and Assembly seats there in the past few elections.

Bhattacharya went to North Bengal on Monday. This is his first visit to the region since he became the party’s state unit chief. Apart from reviving the North Bengal issue, the Bengal BJP president also gave examples of TMC's alleged highhanded approach in the Assembly.

He said, "In the Assembly, the speech of economist Ashok Lahiri (the Balurghat BJP MLA) is being expunged. This does not happen in Parliament. Unfortunately, the ruling party is running the Assembly in such an undemocratic manner."

Bhattacharya also referred to BJP's past performance in North Bengal, notably the 1990s when the saffron party secured just around 11.66 per cent of votes in the state. He said, "Today, we have proved that the BJP is a reckonable political force in Bengal. We also adhere to political courtesy unlike our political contenders."

He also criticised TMC's alleged silence on the recent violent incidents in Murshidabad, Malda and Maheshtala and said, "Trinamool remains selectively silent because of its vote bank. People have understood it and will not support the party anymore."

Bhattacharya also told reporters that on TMC's Martyrs’ Day on July 21, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) would take a march to Uttarkanya, the Bengal BJP's branch secretariat in Siliguri. He said, "Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly, will lead the march against the lack of governance in the state and deprivation of north Bengal."