Bengal needs vaccine against cut money, 'tolabaji'; BJP will give it: Nadda

Nadda aid that people of West Bengal need a vaccine against "cutmoney" and extortion and the TMC has to be sent for relaxation and the saffron party should be given work of running the govt

BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday said that people of West Bengal need a vaccine against "cutmoney" and "tolabaji" (extortion) and the Trinamool Congress has to be sent for "aaram (relaxation)" and the saffron party should be given the "kaam (work)" of running the government.

The TMC government represents corruption and anarchy, he alleged at a party rally here in North 24 Parganas district.

Nadda claimed that the words Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had chosen to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday do not represent the "true Bengali culture".

The BJP will restore that culture if voted to power, he said.

"Yesterday, Mamata ji has said that she wants help from the prime minister to procure COVID-19 vaccines so that she can make them available to people before the assembly polls free of cost. The Centre has already said that those above the age of 60 will get free vaccines. Those who are above 45 and have comorbidity will also get it," he said.

"But Bengal also needs a vaccine against cutmoney and tolabaji, and BJP will make arrangements for it after coming to power. We will also give vaccines so that Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi schemes are implemented (in the state)," Nadda said.

The Centre's Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme has not been implemented in West Bengal, while the chief minister indicated last month that she was agreeable to implement the PM KISAN scheme in the state, under which farmers get Rs 6,000 a year in three equal instalments.

The BJP leader was addressing a rally to mark the culmination of the party's "Paribartan Yatra" in West Bengal, which he flagged off on February 6.

Nadda requested the people of the state to send the TMC government on vacation and bless a BJP government after the assembly election due in April-May.

"The time has come to send the Mamata Banerjee regime for aaram and bring a BJP government which will be engaged in kaam for the development of the state. Time has come to bid adieu to the Bua-Bhatja (aunt-nephew) government from the state," he said.

Referring to the TMC's poll slogan portraying Banerjee as the "daughter of Bengal," the saffron party president alleged that she did not work for the safety and security of the state's sisters and mothers.

"The state tops the chart in crime against women, in rapes, human trafficking. You (Banerjee) neglected the issue of women's safety, and just ahead of elections, you are talking about the daughters of Bengal," he claimed.

A few days ago, the TMC unveiled a poll slogan - "Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye" (Bengal wants its own daughter), portraying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as its mascot with a focus on women voters and Bengali sub-nationalism.