Is attacking my convoy Bengal's culture: Nadda stings TMC

Barddhaman, Jan 09: Lashing out at the TMC over its outsider-insider debate, BJP chief J P Nadda on Saturday questioned whether attaching adjectives to his name and attacking his convoy is a part of West Bengal''s culture.

In a recent video, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was seen purportedly mocking Nadda''s surname, saying, "The BJP has no other work. At times the home minister is here, other times it''s Chaddha, Nadda, Fadda, Bhadda."

Stones were hurled at the BJP chief''s convoy during his visit to Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district on December 10 last year.

There have been discussions by the TMC on people coming from outside West Bengal but what about the acts committed by the party and its supremo that go against the traditions, heritage and culture of the state, Nadda said, while addressing people at the end of a roadshow here.

Pointing at the crowd from his truck adorned with flowers, "Look at them. They are not BJP leaders but people of West Bengal. Mamata Ji, there have been talks by you and your party about people coming from outside. I want to ask you if attaching adjectives to my name is a part of the state''s culture?" he said.

"I want to ask you if hurling objects at my convoy in Diamond Harbour is a part of West Bengal''s culture. I want to ask the TMC if extortion activities by syndicates in coal, cattle and sand smuggling and taking ''cut-money'' goes in sync with the state''s culture. The answer is no. The TMC has lost the right to talk about West Bengal''s culture," Nadda said to thundering applause.

Claiming that only the BJP can carry forward the legacy of Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and other icons of West Bengal, Nadda said the BJP follows the ideals of Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee who believed that a single country cannot have two flags.

Describing his kilometre-long roadshow as "historic", Nadda said people of the state have given a "quit notice" to the Mamata Banerjee government.

Nadda accused the state government of depriving the people of the state of the benefits of central schemes like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and Ayushman Bharat.

He alleged that the TMC government is scared to face the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) audit report on relief in the aftermath of super cyclone Amphan.

Nadda alleged there is misgovernance in West Bengal, the government machinery has been politicised, politics criminalised with the murder of opponents and crimes against women have become rampant.

Thousands of BJP workers had hit the Grand Trunk Road on a stretch from Clock Tower to Curzon Gate in the heart of Barddhaman town as Nadda, holding a replica of a plough, showered petals and waved at them from his vehicle.

BJP leaders from West Bengal such as state chief Dilip Ghosh, Asansol MP and Union minister Babul Supriyo, Barddhaman-Durgapur MP S S Ahluwalia and Rahul Sinha accompanied Nadda on the truck.

Nadda later offered puja at the Sarbamangala temple in the town.