Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders reacted sharply to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s attack on West Bengal during the virtual Jan Samvad rally. Shah had attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the issue of migrant labourers saying that the latter had insulted them by calling Shramik Special trains as 'corona express'.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien responded by saying it is the Centre that is running the Railways.
“Who runs the Railways? If trains were run properly, lives could have been saved, but migrant workers were transferred like cattle. This is the harsh reality, no planning by Modi and Shah,” said Derek O'Brien.
Derek also attacked the Union Home Minister’s statement on violence in West Bengal. “Bengal is the only state in the entire country where the culture of political violence is flourishing,” said Amit Shah.
Shah had also raised the issue of West Bengal not joining the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
“Ayushman Bharat changed lives in his virtual speech. What scares us is that he is the Home Minister of India. It started in 2018 while in Bengal we had the Sasthya Sathi scheme in 2016. The state bears the cost and empowers women. 1.5 crore families benefit from this. Mr.Shah, this can be said at a street side rally by a small leader, but saying all this in a broadcast?” retorted Derek.
Shah also brought up the fact that Mamata has opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and also lashed out at the West Bengal Chief Minister for her comments made at the time when the Modi government had taken bold steps in the aftermath of the Uri and Pulwama attacks.
The TMC has also refuted Shah’s accusations of corruption in West Bengal in the aftermath of cyclone Amphan.
Meanwhile the TMC has also lashed out at Shah through their twitter handle.
“@AmitShah,someone who’s himself put the inclusivity of India in danger, talks about ‘restoring’ the culture of #Bengal. Doesn’t he remember, it was @MamataOfficial who restored the statue od Vidyasagar, vandalised by his men in front of his own eyes. #BengalRejectsAmitShah,” read the tweet.
In May 2019, the statue of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalized during a rally by Amit Shah in Vidyasagar College, after clashes broke out between BJP and TMC supporters.
The TMC referred to the BJP as an outsider who don’t understand the culture of West Bengal.
