Kala din prevails in India under Modi rule, says Mamata CM pats Patel to punch BJP

TT, 01 Nov 2018, Jalpaiguri: On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to champion the cause of Sardar Ballav Bhai Patel, Mamata Banerjee fondly remembered the contribution of the Iron Man for an "integrated India", the reference was aimed at criticising the BJP's "divisive politics".

The chief minister, who attended a public meeting in Tiabon, located on the fringes of Gorumara National Park under Matialli block of Jalpaiguri on Wednesday, alleged that BJP's political line was not in consonance with Patel's ideologies.

"We reverently remember Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary. He was a great leader and had strived for an integrated India. He had never wanted any rift among the people. But those who are in power at the Centre are trying to divide people," said Mamata in her speech.

The assertion -- on a day the Prime Minister unveiled an 182-metre-long statue of Sardar Patel at Kevadiya in Gujarat ­ was intended to prove that the BJP was using the stalwart for its "politics of division".

With the Lok Sabha polls in her sight, in this leg of her north Bengal trip, Mamata has been trying to focus on national issues, like the National Mamata hands over a bicycle to a girl at the public meeting in Tiabon near Matialli on Thursday. Picture by Biplab Basak Register of Citizens in Assam. On Tuesday, the chief minister, while addressing a crowd in Cooch Behar, had asserted that her government will give shelter to anybody who is evicted from any other state.

She again spoke on the issue on Wednesday as she explained the follies of BJP's "divisive politics" and merits of her attempt to integrate the country.

"If any resident in Assam faces any problem, we are there to help him. We will give them shelter… We also want the trade and commerce among Bengal and Assam to flourish." She also spoke on the hill issue and accused BJP for trying to foment trouble in a clandestine manner.

"At the hills, the BJP and its government in Delhi had tried to stir trouble in a planned way…. we have however, managed to restore peace and amity in the hills and consistently working for development," said Mamata.

She also scoffed at the central government and the Prime Minister on "Acche Din." "These are not `acche din' but `kala din'…. We will have to bring `acche din' in the coming days," she said.

CPM invokes Sardar: The CPM, too, tried to distinguish between the Sardar Patel's philosophy and the BJP and RSS brand of politics by referring to a letter Sardar had written to RSS founder Golwalkar denouncing its attempts to alienate Muslims. By drawing parallels of the works and ideologies of Sardar Patel with the ground situation at Kevadiya, the party, in a press release, said that Patel, who had fought for farmers, the poor and the nation as a whole, would have been "deeply pained" at the kind of wanton destruction of natural, human and financial resources at the location..