Kolkata, Nov 1 : TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday slammed BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar for his comment on the India-Bangladesh border, and alleged that the “hypocrisy” of the saffron party has “fallen to new depths”.
In a purported video aired by news channels, Sarkar was seen telling a meeting in his Ranaghat constituency in Nadia district on Thursday that “if we win the assembly polls next year, there will be no barbed wire fencing with Bangladesh.” Nadia district shares a border with the neighbouring country.
Sarkar also claimed, “If the Trinamool Congress wins the elections, there will be no barbed wire fencing, as infiltration from Bangladesh will continue.”
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
In a social media post, Banerjee demanded that the BJP suspend Sarkar if the party truly believes in the integrity of India.
Taking strong exception to Sarkar’s comments, the TMC MP alleged, “The hypocrisy of the BJP leadership has fallen to new depths. @BJP4India MP from Ranaghat, Jagannath Sarkar, declares that if the BJP comes to power, there will be no borders between India and Bangladesh- both nations will become one again!”
He alleged that the BJP government at the Centre and Union Home Minister Amit Shah “keep blaming the West Bengal government for not giving land to protect the very borders their own MP wants to erase.”
“If the BJP truly believes in the nation’s integrity, I challenge @BJP4India @JPNadda to suspend this MP immediately. Their silence will only expose that he spoke with full consent of top leadership,” said Banerjee, the de facto number two in Trinamool Congress hierarchy.
He also claimed that Sarkar’s comment is “not nationalism – this is deception”.
“Fooling and humiliating the people of West Bengal in the name of ‘SIR’ (Special Intensive Revision) has become the BJP’s trademark politics – A dangerous mix of hypocrisy and betrayal!,” the Diamond Harbour MP alleged.
“Look at their own words and decide who’s fooling Bengal,” Banerjee said, attaching the purported video on social media.
BJP chief whip in West Bengal assembly Sankar Ghosh said the “party does not need to learn lessons about nationalism and the country’s unity from Banerjee”.
“Abhishek Banerjee should first put the mirror to himself and ask whether his every action as TMC leader (not as an individual) is helpful to the country’s unity,” he said.
The BJP’s Siliguri MLA also asked, “Does he (Abhishek Banerjee) take action against anti-national elements? Does he act in the country’s interest to ensure security by stopping infiltration and demographic change in the state?”
Ghosh said as far as Sarkar’s comment is concerned, the top BJP leadership will “go through the video and examine its contents before responding”.
Reacting to the controversy, Sarkar said Banerjee had “either not understood the spirit” of his comments or “deliberately twisted them for political reasons.”
“What I meant is a strong, resolute and prosperous Bengal where infiltration from across the border will become a thing of the past. Instead of cooperating with the Union Home Ministry to do the state’s part in bolstering border security, the TMC leader has dragged the name of Amit Shah ji to mislead people,” Sarkar said.
TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the BJP MP has exposed the hypocrisy of his party on the issue of national security.
“Instead of trying to deflect the focus from Sarkar’s comments, BJP should come out with a statement marking its response,” he said. (PTI)
