Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], January 24 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shankar Ghosh has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of harassment against opposition public representatives, asserting that his hunger strike was to secure the rights of the representative in the state.
BJP leaders across the state held a 24-hour hunger strike against the Mamata government on Friday for its refusal to utilise the MLA Development Fund.
While speaking to ANI on Friday from the strike, Ghosh alleged that opposition lawmakers in the state have been repeatedly intimidated over the past 15 years.
"My hunger strike was to secure the rights of the opposition public representative in West Bengal. The purpose of the one-day fast is to ensure that the public discusses this matter. In the last 15 years, we have seen several incidents where opposition public representatives were heckled or harassed," Ghosh said.
Recalling Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's freedom struggle against British imperialism, Ghosh further said that he was concluding his protest on Bose's birth anniversary and was now fighting against the Trinamool regime.
"I'm ending this protest on the birthday of the great Indian leader Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose... He fought against British imperialism, and now we are fighting against the same type of character of the Trinamool regime," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP National President Nitin Nabin will be on his first official visit to West Bengal on January 27 and 28, during which he will participate in a series of key organisational meetings aimed at strengthening the party's grassroots framework ahead of the state assembly elections.
Nitin Nabin will chair a State Core Team Meeting in Durgapur on January 27, focusing on organisational strategy, political roadmap, and upcoming programmes.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also visit West Bengal on January 30 and 31. During his two-day tour, Amit Shah is expected to hold important organisational and political meetings, further energising the party cadre and reviewing preparations for the upcoming political challenges in the state.
This comes as the BJP aims to emerge as the single-largest party in the upcoming West Bengal elections and end the 14-year rule of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.