Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Mar 7: Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, on Saturday launched a strong attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the party of exploiting allies and appointees for political advantage before discarding them.
Speaking at the venue of her indefinite protest in central Kolkata against the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists (SIR), Banerjee cited Nitish Kumar and former West Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose as examples of what she described as the BJP’s “exploit and discard” approach.
“Poor Nitish Kumar! He encouraged OBC-related politics before the Bihar Assembly elections. Now, after the elections, he is set to become a Delhiite. Whoever falls into the BJP’s trap meets the same fate. You saw how C.V. Ananda Bose was removed and forced to resign. BJP uses people until their purpose is served,” Banerjee said while addressing supporters at the protest site, which began on Friday.
The chief minister also criticised national economic policies, claiming they disadvantage West Bengal. She alleged that the state is unfairly blamed for coal smuggling despite coal resources being controlled by the central government.
“Coal produced in our state is taken away, yet we are blamed for coal smuggling. Coal is not under our jurisdiction but under the Union government. It is managed by Coal India Limited and protected by the Central Industrial Security Force,” she said.
Highlighting development projects, Banerjee claimed that several initiatives are underway to strengthen the state’s economy. According to her, six economic corridors are being developed across the state, while two thermal power plants with a capacity of 1,600 MW each are being built in Salboni.
She also emphasised the growth of the Information Technology sector, stating that West Bengal has emerged as a major IT hub with around 200 new companies setting up operations. Banerjee claimed that the state leads the country in the small and medium enterprises sector, providing employment to about 15 million people, including nearly 7.5 lac workers in the leather industry.
The chief minister also spoke about employment trends, asserting that the unemployment rate in the state has declined significantly in recent years. She said the government has introduced special skill training programmes for youth and support schemes for migrant workers returning to the state.