BJP President Amit Shah interacting with party workers and their families , who faced during a meeting in Kolkata on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: PTI more-in Accusing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of indulging in appeasement politics in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday urged that time has come for “the Bengalis to change their nature” to elect one party in the the State for decades “I feel that Bengalis need to change their nature and take decisive steps. I am talking about changing [their] nature because West Bengal is the only State where governments have been changed only twice since Independence; once Congress was displaced and Red (Left) government came to power, and on the other occasion Red was replaced by the Green (TMC),” Mr Shah said. However, in Bengal political parties leading a government changed at least five times and not twice as indicated by Mr Shah. First it was the Congress after Independence followed by United Front, which came to power in 1967. There were political chaos resulting in President's Rule thrice between 1967 and 1972, while part of the period also witnessed United Front government. Congress was back to power and ruled between 1972-1977 followed by the Left Front [1977-2011]. Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011. So effectively it was Congress, United Front, Congress, Left Front and Trinamool Congress to rule the State between 1952 and 2017. While interacting with a section of intellectuals at Indian Council of Cultural Relations in the city the BJP president accused the TMC government of indulging in appeasement and vote bank politics. “Do you need to go to Court for Durga immersion? There are so many states States in the country where religious procession of different communities are brought out together. The decision has nothing to do with Hindu-Muslim riots but it is being done because of vote bank and appeasement politics,” Mr Shah said. The BJP president was referring to the decision of West Bengal government prohibition of immersion of idols for a day on October 1 during Durga Puja celebrations because of Muharram. Immersion will be allowed on September 30 till 6 pm and on October 2, 3, and 4. Coming down heavily on the issue of political violence, Mr Shah said that there is hardly any place in the world where political violence has reached alarming proportions. “Is this the land of Tagore, is this the land of Vivekananda. There can never be development of the state with such violence. The way TMC and its cadres are attacking the opposition, let me remind them that they themselves fought the same violence during Communist rule,” Mr Shah said. Trinamool Congress rebuts allegation Trinamool Congress leader and State’s Education Minister Partha Chatterjee was quick to refute the allegations levelled by the BJP president, which touched on non-utilisation of funds, unemployment and under development. “The BJP president is no knowledge of geography, history or even mathematics,” he said, alleging that the BJP is playing the “religious card” and giving weapons to even children. “I want to ask him when has the BJP brought out a rally for the interest of people of West Bengal,” he said. Mr Chatterjee also argued that law and order deteriorated in Haryana following arrest of Ram Rahim. “But BJP in the State [Haryana] and the Centre failed to control the violence, while targeting us for violence,” he added.

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