Kolkata
Political gimmickry ahead of the election is nothing new. With all the political parties putting up a show of being concerned about citizens and mudslinging against each other is also common.
Setting an example of the same the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP, the main opposition in West Bengal is leaving no stones unturned to woo the voters, where one’s loss is another gain.
Union home minister Amit Shah had lunch at the house of a baul ‘folksinger’ in Bolpur ahead of his roadshow on December 20. A few days after the event, Basudeb Das Baul, the folksinger claimed the Union Home Minister, along with the other BJP leaders, who visited his house, didn’t even hear his problems.
Talking to the FPJ, Basudeb said he wanted to speak to the BJP leadership about the struggle the folksingers face but failed to do so as the leadership didn’t get time. Basudeb added his personal problem has been addressed by the TMC heavyweight leader of Birbhum Anubrata Mandal.
“My daughter after completing her MA degree had been sitting idle as her wish is to complete B Ed. But due to lack of funds I am unable to further her education. I wanted to speak about it with Amit Shah and other leaders. They heard my song, had lunch, but didn’t bother to speak with me and my family. Due to the ongoing pandemic, our community is facing hardships. The Rs1,000 subsidy given by the TMC government is insufficient. Our Anudrata Mandal not just took charge of my daughter’s education but assured of all other aids,” said Basudeb weeping.
Mentioning the hassles by the baul community, Anubrata Mandal told FPJ TMC chief Mamata Banerjee started the baul subsidy as they didn’t earn a single penny the entire year.
“The BJP always does drama and never works for the people. From farm bills to NRC all their schemes are devilish. I tried to stand by Basudeb and hope we (TMC) can uplift not just the baul community but every common man. People are still in favour of Mamata and the upcoming roadshow on December 29 will see more people than the one witnessed by the Shah rally,” said Mandal.
Dubbing the BJP an ‘outsider’, Mandal said Bengal and Bengali culture is not known to BJP and by just saying a word or two doesn’t make them insiders. However, the Bengal BJP rubbishes the claim of Basudeb Das Baul and states the leaders of saffron camp didn’t have the time before the roadshow.
