Mamata Banerjee claims BJP trying to disrupt peace in West Bengal's Jhargram district by dividing people along religion, caste lines

Jhargram (West Bengal): West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of trying to disrupt peace in the erstwhile Maoist-affected areas of Jhargram district. She also alleged that the saffron party was creating a divide among people on the basis of religion, caste and creed. Banerjee asked people to repose faith in her, saying she would never allow anybody to act against their interests. During a visit to Jhargram district, her first after the panchayat polls in May this year, the Trinamool Congress chief urged the people to stay united against communal forces and stop them from entering the district. The BJP had fared well at the rural polls in the tribal-dominated district. [caption id=“attachment_4859771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] The BJP, on the other hand, accused Banerjee of “throttling democracy” in the state and supporting infiltrators from Bangladesh after the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was updated in Assam last month. BJP national general secretary P Murlidhar Rao said Banerjee was “supporting infiltrators” to secure her vote bank. The BJP, he said, will never “tolerate” infiltrators. “Mamata_ji_ is supporting infiltrators from Bangladesh … She is touring the entire country to garner support for infiltrators just to secure her vote bank. She is trying to communalise the issue,” Rao told reporters in Jhargram. Meanwhile in Jhargram, Banerjee directed the MLAs, TMC leaders as well as the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police to help solve people’s problems. She also inaugurated a number of health care projects for the district. Accusing the BJP of trying to disrupt peace in this erstwhile Maoist-affected area, she said, “In the last seven years, we have not let anybody disrupt peace in this region. We have not allowed the Maoists to enter this place. A few people are bringing in Maoists from neighbouring Jharkhand to create bloodbath in Jhargram.” “If you (people) have faith in me, I will ask you not to trust anybody else other than us (TMC). Till I am alive, I will never let anybody to act against the interests of the people. You are my family. I love the Adivasis (tribals),” she said at a public meeting in Jhargram. Banerjee claimed that during the Left Front government, around 300 people were killed in Jhargram in a year, while it was almost nil now. Hitting out at the BJP, she said, “I do not create any division among people. I do not create division among the Hindus and Muslims, nor among the other communities. It’s the ruling BJP at the Centre which does that. We are not with them (the BJP).” “They (BJP) want the poor to face problem. They do not want them to get rice at Rs 2 a kg, free education, job and health care,” the TMC chief alleged. Calling upon people to stay united in the fight against communal forces, Banerjee said, “Let us strengthen the unity. Let us take oath today that there would not be no place for communalism in our state. We will stay together and create a new Bengal,” Banerjee said. Against the backdrop of the BJP making inroads in Jhargram district, the TMC had made some organisational changes last month at block level in the district. Earlier in the day, Banerjee tweeted that her government has ensured all-round development for the tribal people in the state.