Bengal Lagging Behind Under Mamata Rule, Says BJP Chief Nadda; TMC Hits Back

BJP national president JP Nadda on Sunday said West Bengal, once a cradle of the country's renaissance, is now lagging behind because of TMC misrule.
    
Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for establishing a "jungle raj" in the state, Nadda said she should stop behaving like a "champion of democracy" nationwide.
    
"West Bengal was once the cradle of the renaissance of the entire nation. It was Bengal which showed the path to the entire nation. But in the last few decades, Bengal has been lagging behind. After years of misrule by the Left regime and then by the TMC, Bengal now tops the charts in crime against women, corruption, and unemployment," he said at a party programme here.
    
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking the country forward and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is taking the state backwards. The misrule of the TMC has led to Bengal lagging by several years," he said.
    
Nadda said "jungle raj" is going on in the state under the TMC regime.
    
"People are not allowed to speak. There is no democracy in Bengal. Complete anarchy is going on. But Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee talks about democracy in the country and is acting as if she is the champion of democracy. She should first look at her own backyard as she and her party are prevailing over complete lawlessness and jungle raj in the state," he said.
    
The BJP national president also mocked political parties "which bred on dynasty politics and asserted that dynasty politics is a bane for democracy.
    
"We are fighting regional parties, which have turned into dynastic outfits. These parties neither have any principles nor policies.
    
"Be it in Jammu and Kashmir, where you have the JKNC and the PDP or in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal... everywhere you will find dynasties," he said, adding that these regional outfits lack "principles".
    
Regarding the ruling TMC, Nadda said it is a party of "Pisi-Bhaipo (aunt-nephew)".
    
Nadda, lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership abilities, said, "he has scripted a new development story for India" in the last nine years.
    
Nadda's remarks drew a sharp reaction from the TMC, which said that BJP has become a cradle of dynasty politics.
    
"While @JPNadda raises the bogey of dynastic politics against opposition parties, @BJP4India stands as a monument to hypocrisy, nurturing a crop of dynastic leaders in its own backyard," the AITC said in a post on X, earlier Twitter.
    
"PM @narendramodi's cabinet has 15 ministers who are either product of dynastic politics or are building their own. About 12% of BJP's 395 parliamentarians (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha included) are dynasts. It's about time that this facade of righteousness is shattered!" it further said.
    
Reacting to Nadda's claim of Bengal lagging, AITC said Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government had ushered a new era of development in Bengal.
    
"Contrary to @JPNadda's misleading claims, the leadership of Hon'ble CM @MamataOfficial has ushered Bengal into a prosperous era: During 2022-23(Apr-Nov), the growth of WB's Index of Industrial Production was 7.8%. Schemes like Utkarsh Bangla, Kanyashree Prakalpa and Sabooj Sathi have received international recognition. Disseminating false information won't alter the truth, Mr. Nadda. Bengal's ascent continues unabatedly!" the party said in a post on X.