New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, saying the state is witnessing violence as was seen in Kashmir in the eighties against Kashmiri Pandits and that the situation has to be taken seriously.
“The way Bengal is moving towards violence, the way those who perpetrate this are being shielded, there is a beginning of situation which the Kashmiri Pandits faced in the eighties. This has dangerous consequences and there is a need to look at it seriously,” Modi said in an interview to Times Now news channel.
He referred to killing of a BJP worker during polling in the state on Thursday. Modi said Jammu and Kashmir, which is often in the news for violence has seen peaceful polling in the two phases of Lok Sabha election but there was violence in Bengal.
Asked if BJP was focusing on the state to make up for possible losses in Hindi heartland states, Modi said it was wrong to say the BJP was focusing on the state now and referred to his speech at the BJP national council meeting in 2013.
He said BJP believes that India can become a developed country only when development picks up pace in the eastern part of the country.
“Eastern India should be like western India in terms of growth. For this, Kolkata needs to be the epicentre of growth”.
He said the Centre tried to help the Mamata Banerjee government, but development was “not their priority”.
“They are just worried about their politics and their vote bank. Then, we realised that the only tribute to the great leaders of Bengal would be by way of developing the state. Bengal should become the driving force for growth in India. We are working in their direction,” he said.
He said that fielding of Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, as BJP candidate from Bhopal was a symbolic answer to all those who labeled the rich Hindu civilization as “terrorist” and asserted that “this symbol will prove costly for the Congress”.
He said the Congress works with a certain “modus operandi” to create false narratives on incidents such as Samjhauta Express blast and death of judge BH Loya.
While defending the fielding of Thakur, who is on bail in the blast case, Modi asked why no such questions are being asked when Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are contesting from Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies, respectively, despite being on “bail”.
“One woman, that too a ‘sadhvi’, was humiliated in such a manner,” he said in an interview to Times Now while answering a question on fielding of Thakur in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Samjhauta Express verdict came. What came out? Without any evidence, a rich civilization as old as 5000 years, which gave the message of ‘the whole world is one’… You called such a civilization terrorist? To give a reply to all such people, this (fielding of Thakur) is a symbol and this symbol will cost Congress dearly,” the Prime Minister added.
Thakur joined the BJP on Wednesday and soon after was fielded as its candidate from Bhopal against Congress leader Digvijay Singh.
“In Amethi, they (Congress) have a candidate (Rahul Gandhi) who is on bail, in Rae Bareli, they have a candidate (Sonia Gandhi) who is on bail, but there is no debate on that. But if the candidate from Bhopal is on bail, there is so much of outcry,” he said and asked, “how can this go on?”
He went on to add, “I have lived in Gujarat. I have understood the Congress modus operandi. Like a film script, they write a script. They locate something, then bring a villain and a hero and make a film. This is their modus operandi.. It is part of that modus operandi.”
Because of the “same modus operandi” of the Congress, “all the encounters were presented like that (as fake)…. Justice Loya died a natural death but because of this kind of modus operandi, such a case was built as if he had been murdered. On EVM issue also, they used the same modus operandi,” he charged.
Attacking the Congress, he referred to the 1984 when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated.
“Her (Indira’s) son (Rajiv Gandhi) said when big tree falls, the earth shakes. After that thousands of Sikhs were massacred in Delhi. Was it not terrorism of certain people? Even after that he (Rajiv Gandhi) was made the Prime Minister. The neutral media never asked any question with regard to that but is asking now,” Modi said.
“Those who were eye witnesses of those killings were later made ministers.. One of them was recently made the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, against whom there have been allegations. Were they ever asked? Those who have been convicted are being hugged even in jail,” he said, and posed, “Do they (Congress) have any right to raise questions?”