It's time to give befitting reply to 'toll bazi' govt: Goyal targets TMC

Lashing out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Union Minister Piyush Goyal said time has come to give a befitting reply to Chief Minister Banerjee-led government, which is involved in "toll bazi"

Lashing out at the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that time has come to give a befitting reply to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government, which is involved in "toll bazi".

"A syndicate exists in West Bengal. People of West Bengal were bereaved from development. This toll bazi, syndicate money government which did not allow development.... time has come to give a befitting reply to this government," Goyal said while addressing a poll rally in Purulia.

When there will be BJP at the Centre and West Bengal, both will work for the development, he said.

The BJP leader also referred to an incident where Banerjee refused to speak at an event organised to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birth anniversary in Kolkata and asked if chanting Jai Shri Ram is a crime.

"Some days back, your CM refused to deliver a speech at a programme after someone from the audience chanted Jai Shri Ram. Is chanting Jai Shri Ram a crime? West Bengal is probably the only state where Durga idol immersion is stopped by the government," he said.

Addressing another rally in Kolkata, Goyal targeted the TMC regime over "pathetic" infrastructure in West Bengal and also condemned violence in the state.

"It is a sad thing to see the pathetic condition of infrastructure in West Bengal. Violence is condemnable. Communist and Trinamool Congress governments were involved in violence and supported minority appeasement," he said.

"People of West Bengal suffered misgovernance for years. The time has come to give a befitting reply to the Communist Party and Trinamool Congress... A double-engine government that boost up development is needed here. The survey reports are showing that BJP is forming the government with 200+ seats," Goyal added.

Elections to the 294-member state Assembly will be held in eight phases starting from March 27 with the final round of voting taking place on April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.