Dilip: TMC mixing politics, religion to divide people

Midnapore: Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh accused Trinamool Congress of pitting Goddess Durga against Lord Ram in an attempt to divide believers.
“They (Trinamool) are trying to drive a wedge between people by mixing politics with religion. Lord Ram was a worshipper of Ma Durga. The don’t know that Lord Ram had invoked Goddess Durga to take on Ravana. Let goddesses Durga and Kali stay in temples. If you want to create a political narrative, fight over political ideologies,” Ghosh said on Saturday on Chandrakona Road, turning the tables on Trinamool.
This is the first time religious slogans such ‘Jai Shri Ram’ or Trinamool’s new ‘Jai Siya Ram’ have gained traction in Bengal politics ahead of assembly polls.
The state BJP president was addressing a rally as the BJP rath yatra, flagged off by party president J P Nadda in Jhargram, was passing through Midnapore.
Ghosh slammed the Trinamool government, holding it responsible for Bengal’s downslide. “People in Jangalmahal do not have access to drinking water. There are hospitals here but no doctors. Here, democracy is at stake. People are witnessing political violence,” he said.
Addressing supporters at Bhadutala, the BJP leader cited how the Trinamool government threw a spanner in the welfare measures PM Narendra Modi took for Bengal. “People here are not getting the annual Rs 5 lakh benefit under Ayushman Bharat health scheme. Poor farmers have been denied Rs 6,000 under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi for the last two years. Young people are moving out of the state,” Ghosh said.
He added that only a “double engine” government — Modi government at the Centre and a BJP regime in the state — can pull Bengal out of its morass and put it on growth path.
PM Narendra Modi is likely to visit Bengal on February 22 for the second time this month. Sources close to the development said Modi might inaugurate the Metro service from Noapara to Dakshineswar if things go according to plan. Bengal BJP leaders indicated that the PM would address a public rally on Dunlop Maidan in Hooghly.
The state BJP is also planning a rally on Brigade Parade Grounds in March after the party’s yatras are over. “PM Modi will address the rally to bring an end to the misrule in Bengal,” Ghosh said.