Mamata did nothing for farmers, lotus to bloom in Bengal: J P Nadda

Alleging that the TMC dispensation has not done anything for the welfare of farmers and adivasis in West Bengal, BJP national president J P Nadda said on Wednesday that the saffron party, if voted to power, will ensure all-round development of the state.

Reacting to the accusation, TMC leader and state minister Firhad Hakim said Nadda, instead of pointing fingers at his party, should look into the law and order situation in BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The top BJP leader, while attending a 'cha chakra' (tea session) at a village in West Midnapore district, claimed that the party, which had once won the elections in the name of 'Ma, Mati, Manush', is now practising "dictatorship, appeasement and strong-arm tactics".

"The Mamata Banerjee government has done nothing for the welfare of farmers and the adivasis. In the upcoming elections, Mamata-ji will be forced to go... and lotus will bloom in the state," he said.

Maintaining that the people of the state have been deprived of the benefits of central schemes -- Ayushman Bharat and PM-Kisan -- he said that these will be made available once the BJP forms government in the state.

"On one side, there is Narendra Modi who wants advancement of Bengal and on the other, there is Mamata Banerjee who is trying to stop all development projects," the BJP president said, addressing a large number of people who joined the tea session earlier in the day.

Nadda was accompanied by BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, who is also the local MP, and another Lok Sabha member Sukanta Majumdar.

He claimed that lotus (BJP symbol), once it blooms in the state, will usher in development.

Contending that the central government has floated several projects in Bengal, Nadda said that the prime minister, during his visit on Sunday, inaugurated oil, gas and road projects in the state worth more than Rs 4,700 crore.

He also pointed out that Rs 25,000 crore has been allotted to the state in the Union Budget for road construction and infrastructure development.

Making light of Nadda's claims, Hakim said the BJP should first resolve the deadlock over farm laws.

"People belonging to the backward sections are facing atrocities in BJP-ruled states. Farmers are agitating along the Delhi borders for days. The saffron party, instead of attending to these matters, is busy making tall claims about the condition of farmers in Bengal, who are far better off here," the state urban development minister added.

Elections to the 294-member Assembly in Bengal are likely to be held in April-May.