BURDWAN: Buoyed by BJP's emergence as a major Opposition force in Bengal, party president Amit Shah swivelled the focus away from the Saradha scam for a moment on Tuesday and hit the Mamata Banerjee government where it hurts: the Burdwan blast. The country's security, Shah charged, isn't safe in the hands of the Trinamool government.

"Bengal is a border state and infiltration from Bangladesh is a problem. But here is a government which gives priority to vote-bank politics over national security by allowing infiltration," Shah said at a rally in Burdwan.

"Shakil Ahmed (a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh operative) was killed in the Burdwan blast. There was a blast earlier at his Kolkata home. If it had been properly investigated, the Burdwan blast could have been prevented," Shah thundered.

In a bid to boost the morale of BJP supporters who are facing Trinamool's cadre's wrath across the state, Shah let out a battle cry: "If you want confrontation, we are ready! Trinamool's attacks will be countered through confrontation."

Making it clear that his deadline for Bengal was the 2016 assembly polls, Shah told party workers, "Don't be afraid. The party will stand by you. People will ensure that Trinamool is thrown into Ganga Sagar. There will be nobody to look for them."

Earlier, Shah took stock of the party organization and was told by state-level functionaries that BJP's membership had crossed 15-lakh and growing. Shah emphasised on strengthening the party set-up to exploit the rising discontent against Trinamool, which the Left has failed to do. Shah also sought feedback from supporters at a "chintan session" held during the day at Burdwan Town Hall.

Shah's combative mood is largely being seen as an outcome of inputs from party ranks that grassroots workers are willing to take the fight to the Trinamoool camp. In the last couple of months, there have been several incidents of torture and police repression of BJP workers and supporters across college campuses and villages, the recent being the savage torture of a Muslim woman at Parui. Yet, Sangh's student wing, ABVP, has managed to make inroads into a host of colleges. Shah warned Trinamool that its terror tactics would not impede BJP's victory in Bengal.

While preparing the ranks for the battle with Trinamool, the BJP president also appealed to the crowd to give "Narendra Bhai" a chance to facilitate Bengal's progress. "The Trinamool government turned out to be worse than the communist government. Mamata Banerjee's only concern is to save her colleagues accused in Saradha scam. A BJP government in Bengal is the key to the state's development," he said.

Source: TOI