TMC's Abhishek accuses BJP MPs of contradicting Shah's infiltration stand sans consequences

Kolkata, Dec 30 (PTI) Upping the ante against the visiting Union home minister, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday accused Amit Shah of "doublespeak" on the infiltration issue, an agenda which the BJP leader vociferously highlighted stating it would be the saffron camp's key plank in the upcoming West Bengal polls.

Banerjee referred to recent comments of BJP MPs Ananta Maharaj and Jagannath Sarkar, and argued that despite their remarks contradicting Shah's statements on infiltration and border security, the party is yet to take any disciplinary action against the leaders.

"Ananta Maharaj, who was elected by 50 BJP MLAs to the Rajya Sabha, said Amit Shah is the most prominent infiltrator of this country," the TMC leader told reporters in the Kolkata airport, without elaborating.

"The Ranaghat Lok Sabha MP Jagannath Sarkar said two months ago that if the BJP comes to power, borders will get obliterated and that all fences with Bangladesh will be removed. Yet the home minister is putting the responsibility of securing that border on the shoulders of Mamata Banerjee," he said.

The TMC national general secretary asked whether the BJP has taken any disciplinary action against the two for their remarks.

"To the best of my knowledge, neither of the two has even been show caused. Let Shah speak to his MPs and MLAs first and then come here and say such things," said the Diamond Harbour MP, who is de facto number two in the TMC hierarchy.

Countering Shah's statements where he accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government of "dangerously altering" the state's demography by abetting the infiltration of Bangladeshis for electoral gains, the TMC MP argued that the home minister should instead shoulder responsibility for the terror attacks in Delhi and Pahalgam since Delhi police, Jammu and Kashmir police and the BSF are under him.

"You keep repeating the same infiltration story here, but in Delhi, a blast takes place four days ahead of the Bihar polls. Who is responsible? Does Mamata Banerjee run the Delhi government? Who is in charge of the Jammu and Kashmir police where four infiltrators sneaked in and shot dead 26 people in broad daylight?" he asked.

Banerjee demanded Shah's resignation, branding him "the worst performing home minister of India since Independence".

Questioning Shah's decision to extend the service tenure of the country's IB chief, Banerjee said, "After coming to power, the BJP extended the BSF's operational jurisdiction from 2-5 km to 50-80 km inside the border. Yet terror strikes are taking place. Then why should you give the IB chief, who is responsible for such gross intelligence failure, a service extension of one year?" He asked whether the home minister has compulsions surrounding these incidents, or if he is trying to hide facts.

He also countered Shah's assurance to the state's Matua community members against their removal from electoral rolls in the wake of the ongoing SIR exercise by alleging, in oblique reference to a statement by junior Union minister Shantanu Thakur, that BJP's own MP says "if Matua names get deleted from electoral rolls, then so be it." On the issue of rampant corruption alleged by Shah, Banerjee said, in apparent reference to Suvendu Adhikari but without naming him, "He speaks of curbing corruption while sitting next to someone who was seen accepting money on TV screens. That's BJP's politics." Accusing the saffron party of "constantly humiliating Bengalis in BJP-ruled states", Banerjee referred to the home minister's earlier trip to Assam.

"He arrived from Guwahati last evening. Only two months ago, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said those speaking in Bengali should be thrown in detention camps and jails. What steps have you taken against him?" the TMC leader said.

Comparing the home minister to a "migratory bird" who "comes to Bengal only before elections", Banerjee claimed, "When people of Bengal were crying out in distress for not getting money for their 100-day work, the BJP leader never arrived once to offer relief to these people. He has suddenly remembered Bengal because elections are a few months away".

Stating that people are dying in Bengal every day on account of the harassment and anxiety caused by the SIR exercise, Banerjee asked how many BJP leaders have rushed to stand beside those distressed families.

"Those who perished, were they Bangladeshi or Rohingya infiltrators? Why isn't the EC publishing the names of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators they have identified so far?" he questioned. PTI SMY NN