The Union Home Minister is addressing a public awakening programme in Kolkata on the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, at a programme in Kolkata, said that West Bengal and Article 370 have a special connection because it was 'the son of this soil', Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who had raised the slogan 'Ek Nishan, Ek Vidhan Aur Ek Pradhan'. The Union Home Minister was in the city addressing a public-awakening programme on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) - 'NRC-Jagaran Abhiyan' at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.
Referring to the saffron party's prime political rival in the state, Shah critiqued West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee in his address. "I want to remind Mamata di of her speech on 4 Aug 2005 in which she had clearly talked about the ouster of intruders," the Union Home Minister said.
The programme can be watched live here, as the official Twitter handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) posted the live stream on social media.
The BJP President also expressed confidence that the party will form the next government in West Bengal, asking people to give the BJP a chance to realise the dream of "Sonar Bangla".
Addressing the programme, Shah said that the people of the state have expressed their desire for a change of guard by sending 18 BJP candidates to Lok Sabha.
"People of West Bengal have expressed their desire for change by giving us 18 seats in the last Lok Sabha elections. BJP is going to form a government in the leadership of Narendra Modi ji in West Bengal in the next polls," Shah told the gathering.
Asserting that the state was going downwards since independence in terms of development, he said that the dispensations in the state did not do enough to realize the dream of "Sonar Bangla" (Golden Bangla). "You give chances to communists and Trinamool Congress. Please give me a chance and we will deliver 'Sonar Bangla' to you," he said.
The Home Minister thanked people for electing 18 BJP candidates to the lower house of Parliament and said that their votes to BJP played a huge role in BJP achieving a thumping mandate of over 300 seats in the general elections.
Expressing anguish over the killing of BJP workers in political violence, Shah said: "Even (Lok Sabha) election results have not ended the atrocities on our workers. Over 30 activists have been killed. I assure that our workers' sacrifice will pay a dividend in the next state elections."
He said people faced hardships in celebrating Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, and Vasant Panchami prior to the Lok Sabha elections which changed. "You give us 18 seats and now no one can dare to put a ban on Durga puja, Saraswati puja etc," he said.
Shah also said that the Centre will bring the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) to grant citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Christians who flee persecution in Muslim dominated countries and settle in India, vowing to deport "every single infiltrator" from the state.
The Union Home Minister landed at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport in the city at around 1:30 PM, following which he reached the venue to address the programme. The Home Minister is in Kolkata for the dual purpose of attending inaugural ceremonies of Durga Puja celebrations across the city, as well as to attend important policy meetings for the regional BJP.
The Home Minister is supposed to inaugurate the festival at BJ Block in Salt Lake at 7 PM.
(With ANI inputs)
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 "Photo: ANI")
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