Hooghly (West Bengal) [India], January 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asserting that West Bengal is ready for "paltano dorkar" (needed change) and to bid farewell to the TMC's "mega-Jungle Raj".
Recalling the NDA's landslide victory in the Bihar assembly elections last year, ending "Jungle Raj", the Prime Minister expressed confidence that West Bengal would be next, saying the BJP and the NDA had already put an end to "Jungle Raj" in Bihar.
Addressing a massive public rally in Singur, PM Modi said," The BJP and NDA have once again stopped the return of Jungle Raj in Bihar, West Bengal is also ready to bid farewell to TMC's mega-Jungle Raj. This massive public tide in Singur, this energy and enthusiasm of all of you, is telling the new story of West Bengal. Everyone has come with the same feeling, the same hope that we want real change. Every single person wants to end the 15-year jungle raj."
Calling for an end to "utter lawlessness" under the TMC government, PM Modi said, "It is very necessary for TMC's reign of jungle raj to end in Bengal and for BJP's good governance to come. For this, we will have to follow the path shown by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar."
He added that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had made women's power and youth power the medium of change, and said the same forces must now lead Bengal's transformation. "Under TMC's rule, daughters are not safe, and the education system is also in the grip of mafias and corrupt elements," the Prime Minister alleged.
Urging voters to back the BJP in the upcoming Assembly elections, he said, "Your one vote for BJP will ensure that incidents of rape and violence in colleges here are curbed, it will ensure that incidents like Sandeshkhali do not happen again in Bengal, and that thousands of teachers in Bengal do not lose their jobs again (teachers' recruitment 'scam')."
In July 2024, Sandeshkhali, a village in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, had been in a political storm after villagers, mostly women, came out on the streets against the ruling TMC and its strongman Shahjahan, accusing him and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.
The Prime Minister also accused the TMC of compromising national security by facilitating infiltration. "The TMC government is playing with the security of West Bengal and the country as well. TMC provides all kinds of facilities to infiltrators here. It holds protests to protect infiltrators," he said, adding that despite repeated letters from the Centre over the past 11 years seeking land for border fencing, the TMC government had failed to act.
Stressing the need for a "double-engine" government, Modi said West Bengal could achieve rapid development only if the BJP is in power in the state as well.
"Wherever there is a double-engine BJP government, remarkable progress is being made. Let me highlight the success of the Har Ghar Jal Scheme. In Tripura, under the previous government, only 4 out of every 100 households had piped water. Today, under the BJP government, 85 households out of 100 receive piped water," he said.
PM Modi accused the TMC of blocking central initiatives in Bengal, including Ayushman Bharat, PM SHRI schools and schemes for fishermen under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.
"Every government that obstructs development work is now continuously punished by aware voters. In Delhi, we kept telling the previous government to implement the Ayushman scheme for free treatment of poor families, but they wouldn't listen. Now, the people of Delhi are benefiting. Similarly, the people of Bengal have resolved to teach a lesson to TMC's ruthless government so that Ayushman Bharat can reach the poor here as well," PM Modi said.
The PM further accused the TMC of denying access to quality education for Bengal's youth. "While thousands of modern PM SHRI schools are being established nationwide, TMC is denying children in West Bengal access to quality education. It is time to replace the TMC government to secure a better future for the youth of Bengal," he said.
PM Modi also touched upon central initiatives for fishermen and cultural achievements. "The central government has created a digital platform to help fishermen, but in Bengal, this work has come to a halt. TMC is not cooperating, preventing fishermen from benefiting from schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. Bengali language and literature have a rich heritage, and it was only after the BJP came to power in Delhi that Bengali received the status of a Classical Language, and Durga Puja was recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage," he said.
Before addressing the rally, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of, and flagged off development projects worth more than Rs 830 crore, including the Extended Port Gate System and the Jayrambati-Barogopinathpur-Maynapur rail line at Singur, Hooghly, in West Bengal.
Earlier today, addressing a public gathering in Nagaon district, Assam, the Prime Minister targeted the Congress and accused the party of compromising Assam's land and interests for political gain.
"The Congress party handed over Assam's soil to infiltrators just to form governments and garner a few votes. The Congress party formed governments in Assam for decades, and during this time, infiltration kept increasing," PM Modi said.
In the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) record mandate in Maharashtra and Bihar, and the major electoral setbacks suffered by the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Congress would receive a "resounding response" from the people of Assam as well in the next assembly polls.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project (4-Laning of the Kaliabor-Numaligarh section of NH-715), worth over Rs 6,950 Crore, in Kaliabor, Nagaon district.
The Prime Minister also flagged off two New Amrit Bharat Express trains, Guwahati (Kamakhya)-Rohtak Amrit Bharat Express and Dibrugarh-Lucknow (Gomti Nagar) Amrit Bharat Express. The project will pass through Nagaon, Karbi Anglong and Golaghat districts and will significantly improve connectivity to Upper Assam, particularly Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.