A BJP government in Bengal would not interfere with the state’s food habits, Union home minister Amit Shah made clear on Friday releasing his party’s Sankalp Patra for the Assembly elections with the manifesto silent on any ban on beef.
The BJP, which often accuses the Mamata Banerjee government of bribing voters through doles like the Lakshmir Bhandhar, has promised Rs 3,000 monthly assistance for every woman and unemployed youth.
Shah also said a Bengali would be the BJP’s Bengal chief minister.
"Consumption of fish and eggs will not be stopped. This is a rumour by the TMC," Shah said.
The Sankalp Patra makes no mention of beef either, though it does promise a crackdown on cattle smuggling.
Bengal is one of the few places in India where beef is legal; in most states only buffalo meat is legal.
The manifesto vowed a hardline stand on “infiltration” and setting up of the Seventh Pay Commission for state employees within 45 days of assuming power, among many other things.
Shah said a uniform civil code would be implemented within six months of the BJP coming to power in the state.
At a media conference after unveiling the Sankalp Patra, Shah accused the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool of practising appeasement politics.
"The recommendation for the uniform civil code is not of the BJP. It is of the Constituent Assembly," Shah said, claiming that it remained unimplemented for decades because of "appeasement politics".
"It was due to appeasement politics that the UCC was not implemented for so long. In whichever states we have formed governments, we have implemented them, and we will do it in Bengal too," he said.
"There will be one law for every citizen in Bengal," Shah said.
"What is appeasement? Is it allowing one person to have four wives, or asking everyone to follow the law of the land?" Shah asked.
He also sought to address a question that has long dogged his party in Bengal, who would be its chief ministerial face.
"We are not a dynastic party where, after the aunt, the nephew would take over. I can assure the people of Bengal that our chief minister will be a Bengali and a citizen of Bengal," he said, without naming Mamata or her nephew, Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee..
Shah dismissed speculation regarding purported videos of Humayun Kabir released by the TMC in which a person resembling Kabir claims proximity with BJP leaders to split minority votes.
"Humayun Kabir and the BJP are at two opposite poles. Rather than having an understanding with such a party, we would prefer to sit in the Opposition," Shah claimed.
"You do not know Mamataji's capabilities. She can create many such videos," he said.
Shah said that the last 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule had been a "nightmare" for the people of Bengal.
"The BJP Sankalp Patra will guide farmers, youth and women, giving them a new direction. It will offer renewed hope to every citizen who takes pride in Bengal's culture and will serve as a roadmap for the creation of Sonar Bangla," Shah said.
Shah said a BJP government in Bengal would adopt a policy of "detect, delete and deport" against “infiltrators”.
The BJP has also promised 33 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs, including in the police force.