Diliip Ghosh later led another pro-CAA rally, in the same district, in Naihati town. In the morning, TMC took out a rally opposing CAA and NRC in Jalpaiguri district of north Bengal.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s president in West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh kicked up a political storm on Sunday by claiming that those supporting illegal migrants will be sent back to Bangladesh along with “lungi-clad infiltrators”. Ghosh’s statement came during a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally in Bengal and resulted in immediate condemnation from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other opposition parties.
“Hindus were driven out of Bangladesh in their hundreds and thousands. Why is Mamata Banerjee opposing granting of citizenship to these victims of religious persecution? On the other hand, the infiltrators are eating away our share of government benefits and the TMC and the Left are facilitating them to do this,” Ghosh said after leading a rally from Madhyamgram town to Barasat town, a distance of about five kilometres.
“We won’t let the one crore infiltrators in Bengal live here. They didn’t let us (Hindus) live on the other side of Bengal (Bangladesh) and they have no right to live in this part. And concerning those standing by these infiltrators, we will send back the interest along with the principal,” said Ghosh, who was recently re-elected as the BJP’s state unit chief. Senior TMC leaders shot back at him.
“Dilip Ghosh is our goddess Laxmi. The more he speaks the better for us,” said TMC secretary-general and state education minister Partha Chatterjee.
“This loudmouth has nothing else to offer other than big talk and hate speeches. He should be ashamed of himself,” said Tapas Roy, state junior minister for parliamentary affairs.
Ghosh later led another pro-CAA rally, in the same district, in Naihati town. In the morning, TMC took out a rally opposing CAA and NRC in Jalpaiguri district of north Bengal.
Meanwhile, in a unique demonstration, a youth swam 12-km downstream in the River Hooghly to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech supporting CAA from the Belur Math compound on January 12, Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister Arup Roy came to the riverside to encourage the protester, Mukesh Gupta, a resident of Howrah district.
“The prime minister insulted an auspicious place like Belur by using it for petty politics. So, in protest, I swam in the Hooghly from Belur,” Gupta said.
Prasanta Patnaik