Amit Shah’s lunch host, a tribal villager in Bolpur, cries neglect

Bibhishan Hansda on Saturday accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of support to treat his teenage diabetic daughter

File picture of Amit Shah having lunch at Hansda's home in Bankura last November

Snehamoy Chakraborty   |   TT  |  Bolpur(Birbhum)   |   07.11.21 : Tribal villager Bibhishan Hansda, 48, who had hosted Union home minister Amit Shah’s lunch at his home in Bankura on November 5 last year, on Saturday accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of support to treat his teenage diabetic daughter.

The Union home minister had visited Chaturdihi village in Bankura last year when the local BJP leadership had organised his lunch at Hansda’s home as part of the saffron party’s tribal outreach before the Assembly polls.

Hansda had told The Telegraph that he got no chance to speak to his guest. Hansda said he wanted to speak to Shah to seek aid for the treatment of his 18-year-old daughter Rachana.

To assuage the villager, BJP’s Bankura MP Subhas Sarkar, now the junior education minister in the Narendra Modi government, was deputed to assist the family.

"We were promised continuous support for my daughter’s medicines, were told she would be taken to AIIMS in Delhi. It seems they have forgotten the promises,” said Hansda, a poor farmer.

Rachana, who is diabetic from an early age, needs medicines worth Rs 5,000 a month.

“We received help from the BJP till four months ago... I did get free medicines for my daughter. But there has been no support since, and I forced to buy medicines on my own,” said Hansda. “My monthly income is hardly Rs 10,000.”

Sarkar denied charges of his party cooling off. He said Rachana was not been taken to the AIIMS because of the pandemic. “We assigned a medicine shop from where he had to collect medicines for free... It may be that he did not collect it. The girl was being treated by an endocrinologist. We are always with the family,” said Sarkar.

Hansda claimed he got money to buy medicines, but only till four months back.

Trinamul leader Shyamal Santra rubbed it in. “It is very sad that the BJP leaders could forget the host of Amit Shah, the Union home minister.”