Oppn alliance aimed at political gain: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her effort to unite the Opposition, on Tuesday.

Addressing a party rally in Malda district of West Bengal, he said that the 'gathbandhan' (referring to the Opposition alliance) is aimed towards grabbing power and serving vested interests.

He also said that once the Citizenship Amendment bill is passed, all Bengali refugees along with Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Christian refugees will be given Indian citizenship.

Shah said that his rally is for kick starting the BJP’s campaign for the LoK Sabha elections.

“The gathbandhan is aimed at grabbing power and serving vested interests. The agenda of the gathbandhan is clear: remove Modi. We want to remove poverty, unemployment, but they only want to remove Modi,” he said.

Challenging Mamata, Shah said that just by holding hands with 23 Opposition leaders at the January 19 rally, she can't oust Narendra Modi.

“ Mamata di just by holding hands with 23 Opposition leaders you cannot oust Modi. The people of the country are by his side,” Shah said.

Firing a fresh salvo at the chief minister, the BJP president said that out of the 23 leaders who attended the Trinamool Congress’(TMC) mega rally in Kolkata, nine had an ambition to become the prime minister.

“It's like a queue for the prime minister’s post. But we have only one leader: Narendra Modi,” he said.

Claiming that the Mamata won't support the Citizenship Amendment bill for the sake of vote bank politics, Shah said that the bill will be an issue in the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal.

He further claimed that the TMC was supporting infiltrators and when National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being conducted to drive the infiltrators out, the TMC is misleading people by saying that Bengalis will be driven out because of the NRC.

“I want to assure all Hindus, Buddhists and Sikh refugees that there is no need to be afraid. We have introduced the Citizenship Amendment bill and are working on granting citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshi (refugees) as well Buddhists, Sikh and Christians who have come to India facing persecution from places like Pakistan, Afganisthan and Bangladesh,” he said.

Shah said that that the BJP will not rest until Mamata is ousted from power.

He also warned the TMC cadres that if they think that they can indulge in terror tactics and violence during the Lok Sabha elections, like they they did in the panchayat polls, the BJP workers will give them a fitting reply.

“ After listening to the BJP president’s speech in Malda it is obvious that they (the BJP) are extremely scared and nervous. They are heading for a big zero (in the Lok Sabha elections),” TMC MP and spokesperson Derek O’ Brien said.