Opposition joining hands to save themselves, stop Modi’s development: Irani

Jhargram (West Bengal), Jan 23 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday claimed that the opposition leaders, who have no connection with the country's development or people's welfare, came together at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega opposition rally in Kolkata last week out of fear.

Irani said the 'corrupt politicians', who have always been hostile to each other, are now joining hands to save themselves and to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wave of development in the country.

"The people of Bengal recently saw a unique political alliance when those who do not have any connection with development or people's welfare, came on one stage with Didi (Banerjee) to save themselves from Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Irani said at a public rally in West Bengal's Jhargram district.

"The corrupt leaders, who spent their lives by being hostile to one another, are coming together out of the fear that the people of the country will choose to walk the path of development under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Didi is scared that Modiji's wave of development will also reach Bengal," she said.

The BJP leader wondered how Banerjee could think of having an alliance with the Left and the Congress leaders who heckled her once and also allegedly murdered many of her party workers.

"I want to ask Didi, has she forgotten that she was once grabbed by the hair and tortured by the CPI-M and Congress leaders that she is planning to form an alliance with those parties?"

"Didi had alleged that her party activists in the state are being murdered by the Congress. Then how can she form an alliance with Congress whose leaders' hands are stained with the blood of her party workers?" she questioned.

Irani claimed that Banerjee and her party get scared even if the BJP wants to conduct a 'yatra' to celebrate the greatness of the Indian Constitution and democracy by taking permission from the state administration.

The BJP MP from Gujarat claimed that the state's ruling party Trinamool Congress is busy taking "extortion tax from people".

"The ruling party in Bengal is running a new kind of tax regime across the state. It is the extortion tax. Today everyone in Bengal is forced to pay this extortion tax to Trinamool Congress. Be it admission in college, job appointments in schools or even getting widow allowance, everyone is forced to pay the party," she added.