Bengal safe haven for terrorists under Mamata: BJP

Charging West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress with encouraging infiltration, the BJP on Monday said the state has become a safe haven for terrorists under the Mamata Banerjee government.

Referring to last year's blast in Khagragarh in Burdwan district in which a Bangladeshi terror outfit was involved, as well as Sunday's arrests of three suspected agents of Pakistan's ISI, Bharatiya Janata Party national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh accused the Trinamool of having terror links.

"In the last four years, terror activities in Bengal have been growing under the Trinamool. The Khagragarh blast occurred in the house of a Trinamool leader while of the three ISI agents arrested on Sunday, one is a student leader and another a union leader of the Trinamool," Singh said addressing the BJP's 'Utthan Divas' here.

"Mamata Banerjee knows no one will vote for her inside the country. So she is bringing in infiltrators for the sake of her vote-bank. Under Mamata, Bengal has become a safe haven for terrorists," alleged Singh, the party's co-in-charge for Bengal.

Attacking the Trinamool over the Saradha scam, Singh who had given the call of 'Bhag Mamata Bhag' (run Mamata run), called upon the people to make true that call in the 2016 assembly polls.

"Finally, Mamata has admitted that her party leaders are involved in the Saradha scam," Singh said, referring to Banerjee's Monday address in Howrah where she asserted that there can be individual thieves but that doesn't make the party a thief.

"I don't know if her confession is owing to the fact that the CBI is tightening the noose around the Trinamool and also looking at the role played by Madan Mitra's son," said the BJP leader.

Former state transport minister Mitra is one of the accused in the multi-crore-rupee scam and is currently in custody.

"Last year, I had given the call 'Bhag Mamata Bhag', and now it is up to you to make that true. It's now time for the people to make Bengal terror free by overthrowing the Trinamool," added Singh.

Speaking in the same vein, BJP national secretary Suresh Pujari too said there was a reign of terror in Bengal under Mamata Banerjee.

"Today, we are celebrating Utthan Divas, but next year on this day, we will be celebrating Vijay Divas as by then, the people of Bengal will overthrow this reign of terror," said Pujari.