July 16, 2018
Press statement from the All-India Trinamool Congress
We are deeply concerned about those who were injured at the Midnapore rally. We pray for their early recovery. All medical assistance is being provided to the injured. The organisers of this rally must take responsibility for this lapse.
Here is a point-by-point rebuttal to the fake allegations raised by the BJP leader:
Point 1
Fake versus Fact #1
The BJP leader claimed that he saw hundreds of Mamata Banerjee posters welcoming him. How far from the truth is that! On July 21, all over Bengal, similar signages can be seen for Trinamool’s Shahid Dibas rally. He is obviously not well informed.
Some of these posters and banners were in fact defaced and pulled down by workers of his party.
Point 2
Fake versus Fact #2
The meeting was attended by mostly people from neighbouring states, like Jharkhand, Orissa, and even vehicles from Patna were spotted. There were hardly any locals or farmers. There was lot of corporate money spent for this political meeting but what has been the net result? How have the farmers benefited?
Point 3
Fake versus Fact #3
May we now ask the BJP leader how he plans to double farmers’ income? It was a promise made many years ago in his party’s Manifesto, but still not delivered. Let us share with the BJP leader some figures about Bengal.
In Bengal, farmers’ income has more than tripled in seven years. In 2011, it was Rs 91,000 and last year it went up to Rs 2,90,000.
Point 4
Fake versus Fact #4
Here is a Parliamentary report giving farmer suicide figures:
In the first quarter of 2017, the number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra was 635 while the figure for Bengal was zero.
Hope the BJP leader has got his answer. These numbers tell the true story of the farmers’ situation in the country and their condition in Bengal.
Point 5
Fake versus Fact #5
Syndicate – Who knows better than the BJP leaders about syndicate?
Your party is a syndicate that peddles religious extremism.
Your party is a syndicate for fanatics.
Your party is a lynching syndicate.
Your party is a torture syndicate.
Your party is a syndicate for agencies.
Your party is a syndicate which created notebandi (demonetisation).
Your party is a syndicate of corruption. So, BJP leaders should not play with fire.
Try as you may to harass us with your agencies, we will not bow down to any BJP syndicate.
Bengal is for all. It is the cultural capital of the world. The BJP leader’s speech proved that they have no development agenda at all. He came and gave a political bhashan.
The net result is ZERO, ZERO, ZERO.
Released on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress,
Partha Chatterjee and Derek O’Brien.
