Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday exuded confidence that the BJP will form the next government in West Bengal after the Assembly polls next year as “parivartan” (change) is inevitable.
In an exclusive interview to Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah said, “We will give our best (during the polls) and I am hopeful there will be ‘parivartan’ (change) in West Bengal. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the BJP is going to form the next government.”
When asked about the party’s chief ministerial face, Shah said, “Woh to ho bhi sakta hai, magar abhi to Bengal ki janta Trinamool Congress ko hatana chahti hai, woh mukhya baat hai (that could be possible, but Bengal’s people currently want to get rid of Trinamool Congress and that is the most important now).”
On issues related to corruption in Bengal after Cyclone Amphan, Shah said, “During Cyclone Amphan, the entire relief (including that sent by us) went into wrong hands. There were complaints of corruption over distribution of Amphan relief. Puri rahat ghotalo mein chali gayi (the entire relief went into corruption).”
Shah also expressed dissatisfaction over Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. “They lacked in taking adequate measures while handling the pandemic,” he added.
With a nearly 40% vote share, the BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 parliament seats and emerged as the TMC’s main challenger in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
