The BJP on Monday said it would implement Assam’s “detect, delete and deport” model in West Bengal to identify and expel alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators if voted to power in the state.
Addressing a rally in Islampur in Malda district while flagging off the party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ ahead of the Assembly elections, BJP national president Nitin Nabin said the model used in Assam would be replicated in Bengal.
He also announced that the town would be renamed Ishwarpur under a BJP government.
“We have recently formed the government in Bihar. In Assam, we are following the 'detect, delete and deport' model for Bangladeshi infiltrators. We will implement the same wherever these foreigners are eating into the rights of our own citizens,” Nabin said, opening his speech with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Jai Maa Kali’ chant.
Citing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Nabin claimed that the Election Commission had already removed the names of “more than 50 lakh Bangladeshi infiltrators” from voter lists in the state.
“If names of 50 lakh Bangladeshis weren't deleted by the EC, then the Centre's welfare schemes, meant for the people of Bengal, would have benefited the infiltrators,” he said.
Nabin said the BJP would rename Islampur as Ishwarpur if it forms the government.
“We will fulfil your dream of renaming this place Ishwarpur because this has been the land of Rajbanshi reformer Thakur Panchanan Barma, the last Hindu king of Bengal, Lakshman Sen, and revolutionary freedom fighter Purna Chandra Das,” he said, repeatedly addressing the audience as “people of Ishwarpur”.
Accusing the Trinamool Congress government of betraying public trust, Nabin said the demand for change was growing across the state.
“The slogan of 'parivartan', which is being carried in the hearts of people, should now spread like wildfire. We will bring this desire to the streets and uproot the Mamata Banerjee government. We will change not just the system of Bengal, but the lives of people living here,” he said.
The BJP leader accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee of appeasement politics and selective governance.
“We have to take court's permission to hold Kali Puja in Bengal, but Mamata Banerjee has given unconditional consent to offer namaaz on roads at any time of the day or year,” he alleged.
Nabin also targeted the state government over border security, accusing it of refusing to provide land for fencing.
“Didi doesn't want to secure the citizens of this country and of Bengal, that's why her government is shying away from providing land for border fencing. She is focused on rehabilitating Bangladeshis here with false documents,” he said.
He further alleged that Banerjee had taken legal steps to protect alleged infiltrators while ignoring other issues.
“The EC has already removed 50 lakh infiltrators. Now Didi wants to sit on a dharna for the rest who are under judicial scrutiny. She doesn't care for the jobless youths or lack of new industries. She is worried about her losses in votes,” Nabin said.
Nabin also accused the chief minister of prioritising electoral concerns over women’s safety.
The BJP leader alleged that Banerjee, in her eagerness to save infiltrators from getting removed from electoral rolls, donned a black robe and argued in Supreme Court, while she "slept when daughters in her state were attacked", insisting that women's safety can only be ensured in Bengal under the Narendra Modi-led BJP rule.
Linking Bengal’s future to the Centre’s development agenda, Nabin said the state needed to align with the rest of the country to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
“The cry of Vande Mataram, which once pushed the British out, will now push the corrupt and goon-infested TMC party out of Bengal,” he said.
Ending his address, Nabin said, “Let the bonfire of Holi consume the TMC government and its betrayals to the people of Bengal. Later, on the day BJP attains victory in this state, there will be another Holi and the colour of that bonfire will be saffron.”