Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday targeted the practice of polygamy during the campaigning for the West Bengal assembly elections, saying that the BJP will implement UCC to ban the practice in the state.
Speaking at a rally in Kulti, on the outskirts of Paschim Bardhaman’s industrial hubs of Asansol and Barakar, he said the BJP would restore the industrial glory of the country’s iron ore production hub and secure jobs for local youth.
“Kulti used to be the hub of iron ore production of the country, but the Mamata Banerjee government has brought it to its knees. We will take the iron city back to its glory, stop illegal mining, impose effective bans on the pollution-creating sponge iron production in the region and create job opportunities for local youths,” Shah said.
Shah also promised an “infiltrator-free Bengal” once the BJP is voted to power in the state.
“Once voted to power, the BJP will ban four marriages in a certain community by enforcing UCC in Bengal,” PTI quoted Amit Shah as saying. The new government would also put an end to the fledgling syndicate, mafia and goonda raj in the state, he added.
The West Bengal election
West Bengal votes in two phases, on April 23 and 29, amid a row over the deletion of lakhs of votes, which the TMC has blamed on an alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission.
Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4, along with that in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has been CM since 2011 after breaching the Left fortress for decades. The BJP climbed to 77 seats in the 294-member assembly in 2021, up from a mere three in 2016, but the TMC also increased its seats. The TMC’s primary pitch against the BJP is that it’s a group of outsiders, while the Hindutva ideology-driven BJP has been alleging corruption and favouritism towards Muslims by the TMC.
