BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday alleged that associates of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee were involved in the Saradha chit fund scamand strong action will be taken to put them behind bars.
“More than 2,000 farmers had lost their land in Singur and Nandigram and you had observed fast to protest against the injustice. But in Saradha scam more than 17 lakh people of Bengal have lost their deposits. Why are you not coming down on the roads and sitting on a fast for those duped investors? It is because your own associates are involved in the scam. You have to come out with an answer to who tookaway the money,” Mr Shah said.
He was addressing an election rally in Bowbazar to garner support for its Chowringhee Assembly bypoll candidate Ritesh Tiwari.
It was his first visit to the city after becoming the BJP president.
“We are not afraid of anyone as our workers are not involved in any scam. Whether it is Saradha or anything else, we will arrest those who are involved in it and put them behind bars,” Mr Shah said.
The BJP president asked Ms Banerjee to step down if she fails to stop her associates from indulging in corrupt activities.
“If you cannot reign in your associates then please step down. The BJP will provide good governance in Bengal. The countdown has already started and the people of Bengal will show you the way out in the 2016 Assembly elections,” he added. Lashing out at her, Mr Shah alleged that instead of working for the people she has only pursued politics after coming to power.
“She only thinks about the infiltrators who are coming from neighbouring Bangladesh. In the Trinamul Congress rule, Bangladeshi infiltration has gone up by five times. If one Bangladeshi infiltrator comes here, then he takes away the job and education of a Bengali youth. But she is more interested in politics than development of Bengal. She has to stop this infiltration from Bangladesh and the rising crimes in the state,” he said.