NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday released the BJP’s “charge sheet” against the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led West Bengal government ahead of assembly polls in the state.Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, Shah emphasised that the upcoming elections would be a choice between “fear and trust.” He was joined by BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya and Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of opposition in the West Bengal assembly.He criticised chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of fostering a “politics of lies, violence, and corruption over the past 15 years.”“Bengal has to choose between fear and trust. For the last 15 years, politics of fear and corruption have been going on. Mamata Banerjee has created a new way of politics by using lies and violence to move her politics forward. The basis of TMC coming to power is lies, fear, and violence. But since 2011, BJP has been fighting against this, and I believe that this time BJP will form the government,” Shah told reporters.He continued, “In today’s press conference, we have come with a chargesheet against the 15 years of rule by the TMC government. This chargesheet is filed against the Mamata Banerjee government on behalf of the people of Bengal, which the BJP is voicing. In a way, the people of Bengal have to decide in the coming elections whether to choose fear or to choose trust.”The senior BJP leader also lauded Suvendu Adhikari for his extensive tour of the state to address key issues.“Elections have been announced. All BJP workers, under the leadership of our state president, have stepped into Bengal with the resolve to form a BJP government. This election in Bengal is also very important for national security. The security of the entire eastern region is connected to Bengal. After the BJP government was formed in Assam, infiltration has almost ended. Now, only one route remains from where infiltrators enter the entire country, and that is Bengal,” he explained.Shah added, “Our opposition leader, Shri Suvendu Adhikari ji, has also toured the entire Bengal before the elections, taking the issues of disorder, anarchy, economic distress, and especially infiltration prevalent in Bengal to every individual.”He further criticised the TMC for failing to deliver on its promise of a “Sonar Bangla,” turning the state into a hub for criminal syndicates and stifling industrial growth, which he described as a “graveyard for industry.”The state will conduct elections in two phases, on April 23 and April 29, with counting of votes for both phases scheduled for May 4. In the first phase, elections will be held across 152 constituencies, while the remaining 142 seats will go to the polls in the second phase.(With ANI inputs)
