BJP West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya (File photo)
NEW DELHI: BJP’s West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya on Saturday cautioned party workers against becoming arrogant, warning that the infamous “egg therapy” could otherwise “turn on its head.””No system can function or be made to live for long by quashing protests. All autocracies across the world inevitably fall. If someone from our side sports a body language of having 207 MLAs and hits the road, then the consequence will be disastrous,” he said at event in Kolkata, referring to the number seats the BJP won in the assembly elections in April to form its first government in the state.“The unwarranted egg therapy we see now can turn on its head and start falling on the other side as well. Everyone, including those in my party, must understand that. Those ‘Sanatanis’ who have suddenly found a place in our party and are harbouring aspirations for influence and advantage must also remain careful because the trajectory of those eggs can change in no time,” the Rajya Sabha MP remarked, apparently referring to leaders who joined the BJP from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which lost power in West Bengal after 15 years.The “egg therapy” Bhattacharya mentioned alluded to incidents of egg-pelting targeting TMC leaders after the party’s defeat.He also acknowledged that despite having assumed political power in West Bengal, the BJP has not yet been entirely successful in eradicating the “culture of extortion.””Our government has come to power only two months ago. We have not been able to solve all problems. If I say that we have been able to eradicate extortion from everywhere, then I will be making a false claim. There are deviations. People had become accustomed to passing through a system of making easy money through syndicates. Not everything has changed with the change in state power,” Bhattacharya told the audience.”Some joined the ruling party (BJP) within four hours, others had dormant wishes that have now surfaced. We are trying to control such tendencies within the party. Our CM Suvendu Adhikari is also trying to apply strict brakes on such tendencies.”Emphasising the need to free the business ecosystem from “partisan politics,” the BJP leader argued that West Bengal stood at the “cusp of breaking with its chequered industrial past.””We must keep partisan politics out of this system. We have become residents of a political society in West Bengal. We need freedom from it. Till such time Bengal is able to come out of the culture of infiltration of politics in every sphere of life, no government can bring about its effective change and attract investment.”
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“We are making an earnest effort to build a government for West Bengal.”Bhattacharya described the BJP’s progress towards that goal as only a “partial success.””We haven’t been able to provide you with an error-free atmosphere, but we have largely been able to deliver an investment climate that is fear-free. To set up a company, you can now buy your own brick, cement and sand. If someone approaches you, use the phone. He will either leave your premises or find himself inside a lock-up.”(With PTI inputs)
