A bust of the iconic social reformer was desecrated in a college in Kolkata during the then BJP chief Amit Shah’s rally. The TMC alleged that the BJP activists were behind the incident.
Banerjee mocked Adhikari for having failed to “convert” his father and two brothers from TMC to BJP.
“You have failed to bloom the lotus in your own house.
How can you make the lotus bloom in the entire state?” he said.
Suvendu Adhikari’s father and Kanthi MP Sisir Adhikari, brother and Kanthi MP Soumendu Adhikari and younger brother and Kanthi Municipality Chairman Soumendu Adhikari are still with the TMC.
Banerjee sarcastically commented, “If you call Amit Shah as your new elder brother, is his son your nephew?”
Banerjee described Adhikari as someone from Purba Medinipur who has brought shame to the district, which is the birthplace of Vidyasagar, by joining hands with “people who vandalised the Vidyasagar bust”.
Referring to the attack on BJP chief J P Nadda’s convoy on December 10, Banerjee said, “Maybe someone hurled a single brick due to frustration over anti-people policies of the BJP government at the Centre. I would request people not to vent their ire by throwing stones, instead through the EVM.”
He claimed “not more than 450 people” attended Nadda’s rally in Diamond Harbour.
“This shows that the BJP has no support base in the state and survives only through media hype,” he said.
Banerjee said BJP leaders like the party’s state chief Dilip Ghosh are issuing threats to break hands and limbs, which are more befitting for goons.
“Actually, they are spineless for lacking support of the people,” he said.
Taking a jibe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for having lunch at poor people’s houses during his visits to the state, Banerjee said, “It seems he likes to have lunch with TV cameras reporting every bite. What about visiting the agitating farmers on the Delhi-Haryana border? Why doesn’t he go there to have lunch? Because he doesn’t have that courage.”
He claimed that the Centre has stopped the allocation of Rs 5 crore for the development of his constituency under the MPLADS funds since March last year.
“If you are really pro-people, don’t withhold that amount citing COVID-19 situation. Instead, you stop the monthly salary of MPs for that period. The BJP government never thinks twice before buying planes but blocks money meant for common people,” Banerjee added.
