Only if any of your candidates reach Parliament: Dilip Ghosh on TMC’s promise to repeal CAA in poll manifesto

In reaction to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) stating in its manifesto that they will be repealing the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) if they form the government along with their INDIA bloc partners in the Centre, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Ghosh said that the TMC will only be able to do so if any of their candidates reach the Parliament.
“They (TMC) are saying they will repeal CAA. You will be able to do it only if any of your candidates reach the Parliament. Just like they have managed to repeal GST, restore Article 370, construct the Babri Masjid, roll back demonetization. Now they will repeal CAA. This is their promise. This is madness. Nobody believes them. They have nothing in their hands,” Ghosh said speaking to ANI at Purba Bardhaman on Wednesday.
Ghosh is BJP’s candidate from the Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha constituency.
On the blast that took place during a rally in Murshidabad district on the occasion of Ram Navami, Ghosh hit out at the TMC government saying that manufacturing bombs is one of the small-scale industries in the state and such incidents are not new.
“In Bengal, bombs and pistols are not a new thing. However, I think that those who used to engage in all these (violence) have got the message that all these will not work. Last time sticks and stones were thrown, This time such things did not happen. Throwing bombs is a small matter. We call that cottage industry here. In small industries, nothing else but bombs are manufactured,” Ghosh said.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is contesting solo in West Bengal after failing to reach a seat-sharing agreement with its INDIA bloc partners in the state, released its manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Kolkata on Wednesday.
The TMC which is in staunch opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), whose Rules were recently notified by the central government, promised to do away with the controversial legislation once it comes to power at the Centre along with the INDIA bloc.
Among the big-ticket promises, the TMC announced 10 gas cylinders free of cost every year to Below Poverty Line families and free 5 kg ration to very ration card holder.
“Every BPL family will get 10 gas cylinders free of cost every year. This will also ensure environmental friendly cooking. Every ration card holder will get 5 kg ration free of cost. It will be provided to every ration-holder’s doorstep free of cost,” Amit Mitra announced.
Promising 100-days employment and houses for all poor families, Mitra said, “All job card holders will be guaranteed 100-days work and all labourers throughout the country will get minimum Rs 400 daily wage. Every poor family will get guaranteed cemented and disaster-resilient houses.”
The TMC also promised legal guarantee of Minimum Support Prices to all farmers as per Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations. The MSP will be set at a minimum of 50 per cent higher than the average cost of production of all crops, the party said.
The first phase of polling will kick off across the country, including West Bengal on Friday, which will be voting in all the seven phases.
Though the TMC is part of the INDIA bloc, it does not have a seat-sharing arrangement with the other parties in the alliance, like Congress and the Left parties in the state.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for just 2 seats. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.
However, the BJP came up with a much-improved showing in the 2019 polls, winning 18 seats against the TMC’s 22. The Congress’s tally dropped to just 2 seats, while the Left scored a blank