New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s effort to woo women voters for the two-phased Assembly elections, scheduled for April 23 and 29, invited sharp reactions, on Saturday, from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
The BJP leaders called the Trinamool Congress’ poll promise for women voters in West Bengal, as ‘merely populist announcements’ by the party supremo, who they predicted “will make her exit this time.”
Trinamool Congress, on Friday, released its election manifesto for the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal with 10-point promises.
The manifesto promised the monthly amount to be enhanced to Rs 1,500 for women under general categories and to Rs 1,700 for women under reserved categories if the Trinamool Congress comes back to power for the fourth consecutive term in West Bengal.
Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal told IANS, “Mamata Banerjee is now thinking about the public after so many years. What was she doing till now? These are merely populist announcements. She knows that her political ground is slipping, which is why she is making such declarations.”
Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh seemed confident that the West Bengal Chief Minister would lose the election.
He said, “Leave Mamata Banerjee aside. Tejashwi (Yadav) also used to speak in the same manner before the elections. Mamata Banerjee is on her way out this time, she will be making her exit this time.”
BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana echoed a similar sentiment. “She (Mamata Banerjee) is trying all that she can do now, but the people of Bengal have made up their mind,” he said.
Khatana also criticised Mamata Banerjee after she allegedly called the BJP ‘gaddar party’.
He told IANS, “This is the frustration. Now she knows that the people of Bengal have already made up their mind to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whether it is Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Keralam or Kashmir, everyone wants to support the (BJP-led NDA) government.”
Meanwhile, defending Banerjee’s poll promise for women, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji, said, “These schemes have been implemented in BJP-ruled states as well.”
Moreover, mentioning that a similar scheme is already in place in states like Madhya Pradesh, she said, “If the governments in non-BJP-ruled states are also bringing in such schemes, the BJP doesn’t have the right to speak on this.”
Maji added, “Women from all states have the right to progress, especially if they are from socially disadvantaged sections. All governments have the right to work for their welfare.”
–IANS
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