BJP turning 'communal' ahead of panchayat polls, says Trinamool's Kunal Ghosh

NCBC chairperson Hansraj Ahir had also alleged 'appeasement politics' by the Mamata Banerjee government.

The Trinamool Congress has alleged that the BJP is turning “communal” with the approaching rural polls in West Bengal.

“With the panchayat election around the corner, BJP has picked up its communal bugle,” Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh tweeted on Wednesday.

Ghosh’s comments are in the context of the recent statements of the BJP president JP Nadda, and of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) chairman, concerning alleged discrimination against other backward classes (OBCs) in the state.

Interacting with reporters in Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, Nadda had said that the governments of West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Punjab are depriving the OBC-communities of their rights.

With the NCBC in the backdrop, the BJP leader had claimed that in West Bengal, of the 179 castes included in the category, 118 castes from the Muslim community. The benefits of reservation – 91.5 per cent – went to Muslims, and the others in the category were deprived.

Nadda’s comments about Bengal are preceded by those of NCBC chairperson Hansraj Ahir. The comments point at alleged “appeasement politics” by the Mamata Banerjee government.

Ghosh added: “Pitting one community against another, National Commission for Backward Classes' (NCBC) Chairman and former BJP MP, Hansraj Ahir has accused the GoWB (government of West Bengal) of depriving certain Backward Castes of their rights.”

The Trinamool leader added that inclusion of castes – Hindus or Muslims – in the state take place after consulting the Backward Classes Commission, and a higher representation of a community in the State List, is not correlated with population that gets benefitted.

BJP Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar, reflecting Nadda’s views, mentioned in a tweet: “Mamata govt is offering the OBC quota & their reservation in WB to Muslims in an attempt to appease them….”

Ghosh added that if NCBC and Nadda are concerned about the welfare of state’s people, then they should urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release funds “worth ₹1.15 lakh crore” that have been blocked by the government at the Centre.