Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah flashes victory sign during his visit to Swami Vivekanandas ancestral house, in Kolkata, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday attacked the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and said that by the time the election comes, the Chief Minister would be left all alone in her party.
"By the time elections come, you will be left all alone...Why are so many people leaving Trinamool Congress now? Because of the misrule, corruption and nepotism of Mamata Banerjee," Shah said at his mega rally. The minister said that this is just the beginning in Bengal.
"You gave three decades to Congress, three decades to Communists and 10 years to Mamata 'Didi'. Give just 5 years to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), we will transform Bengal into 'Sonar Bangla'," he said.
Shah welcomed Suvendu Adhikari and several others to the BJP. He said that senior party members are leaving Trinamool Congress because of corruption and growing discontent among the common people.
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"Didi accuses BJP of inducing party members to defect. But I want to ask her when she quit Congress to form TMC, was it not defection?" he said. The former BJP chief said that the party would form the next government in Bengal with more than 200 seats in the 294-member Assembly.
In a tweet upon his arrival in Kolkata, he wrote, "I bow to this revered land of greats like Gurudev Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Syama Prasad Mookerjee."
Suvendu Adhikari, who gave up his cabinet portfolios and the Trinamool Congress, joined the BJP today. A slew of disgruntled TMC leaders, including some MLAs are also expected to join the saffron party.
The BJP's state chief Dilip Ghosh has said that Shah and party president JP Nadda would visit West Bengal every month till the assembly elections, likely in April-May, are over.
Amit Shah visits Swami Vivekananda's birthplace, says his ideals more relevant today
Amit Shah visited the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda in north Kolkata today and said that the ideals of the 19th-century icon are more relevant in the present-day world. Shah paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda, hailing him for taking Indian's culture and ethos to the world.
"Swami Vivekananda took India's culture, vision and ethos to the world. He bridged the gap between spirituality and modernity. After visiting his birthplace, I feel his ideals are still relevant in the present-day world. Rather, his ideals are more needed in the present times," he told reporters.
The path shown by Vivekananda will not only lead India but the entire world on the road to prosperity, Shah said.
He said Vivekananda gave a call for worshipping the nation as 'Bharatmata' in his Chicago address.
"Eventually the country got freedom," Shah said, describing Vivekananda as one of the most dynamic spiritual leaders of the country who familiarised the world with the philosophy of India.
Amid beats of the dhaak, Shah arrived at Vivekananda's ancestral home in Simla Street that has been turned into a museum. Members of the BJP women's wing, in traditional white saree with red borders, welcomed him by showering flower petals.
After garlanding the statue of Swami Vivekananda outside the complex, Shah was shown the articles used by him. The BJP leader also interacted with the monks.
(With agency inputs)
