Kolkata: Regional parties throughout the country have turned into meagre family outfits for whom politics is not a medium to serve people but self-interests, BJP national president, JP Nadda said here on Wednesday.
“Take the example of West Bengal. The ruling party in the state, Trinamool Congress, has become a family outfit of ‘aunt and her nephew’. So are the cases in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where first the father, and then his son managed the affairs of the biggest regional political forces in these two states. In Kashmir, it is the affair of the father and daughter. Similar things are happening in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Telangana,” Nadda said while addressing the state executive body of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here.
“Similarly, the Congress from a family outfit of ‘mother and son’ has become an outfit of ‘sister and brother’. So you should feel lucky that you are associated with BJP where such family affairs do not happen,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, he dismissed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s claims that the Central government is holding back legitimate dues of the state.
“The West Bengal government has not sent the details of statements on expenditure or utilization certificates of the central funds that they received. Had the Union government released fresh funds without receiving the statements of expenditures of the previous funds it would have done an unethical thing. The motive of the state government is clear. Give funds but do not demand accounts of expenditure,” Nadda said.
He also criticised the state government for running the different central government schemes in different names in West Bengal.
Addressing the meeting, Nadda told the state BJP leaders to start reaching out to the people highlighting the issues like corruption, misrule, violence and crime against women without remaining frustrated with the series of election debacles in the last couple of years.
He even gave an example of his own life to cheer up the state party leaders.
“Around 40 years back, my friends in Congress used to tell me that I am the right man in the wrong party. Now I ask them — who is where today? So, what I mean to say is that nothing is static in politics. Only thing is that you will have to decide whom you have to counter. The grand welcome that I received at Kolkata airport last night ushered hopes of a fresh political wind in the state,” Nadda said.
The BJP president also spoke on the issues related to crime against women and reported attempts by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to downplay these incidents.
“As per records of the National Crime Records Bureau, West Bengal has reported the highest number of rapes and highest number of kidnapping of women. The chief minister is always in a downplaying mood. Even incidents of rapes are minor affairs for her. I ask you all to go to people, update them about such things and ask them whether they want to stay with such misrule or they want a change,” Nadda said.
–IANS