Cooch Behar (West Bengal) [India], April 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Trinamool Congress of opposing the SIR so that "infiltrators are not identified" and alleged that a "ruthless government has turned Bengal into a hub of migration" .
Addressing a rally here, he also targeted Trinamool Congress over its comments concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act said the party wants to "strip citizenship from those Hindu refugees who have been granted it".
"These Trinamool people are opposing the SIR. So that infiltrators cannot be identified, instead, TMC is threatening to scrap the CAA. That is, they will strip citizenship from those Hindu refugees who have been granted it and give that citizenship to infiltrators. Because TMC considers infiltrators their vote bank," he said.
PM Modi said Bengal was once one of India's most developed states, but it is now behind in development parameters.
"Bengal was at the forefront of development, trade, industry, art, and culture. But then Bengal was eclipsed. First, by the Congress, then by the Left, and now by the TMC. As a result, Bengal's development has faded. Previously, people in Bengal always earned more than the average person in the country," he said.
"But now, the average person in Bengal earns far less than the national average. This means that the country is progressing. Other states are developing. The TMC has pushed Bengal back. New industries are opening in most states across the country, but factories are leaving Bengal. Previously, people used to come to Bengal for employment. A ruthless government has turned that same Bengal into a hub of migration," he added.
The 294-member West Bengal Assembly will go to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4.