Kolkata: Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday kick-started his poll campaign from Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas, alleging that the list of booth-level agents submitted to the EC managed to reach BJP netas in Delhi, who were now calling them up offering substantial sums of money.Pointing to the deletion of Matua voters through SIR, Abhishek said BJP was like a “snake” that turned “against its own”. “They have turned against those who actually voted for them. See how many Matuas who voted for them earlier have had their names deleted,” he said.Alleging an EC-BJP nexus similar to the allegations made by CM Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek said: “Our BLA-2s informed us that they are receiving calls from BJP’s Delhi office urging them to work for BJP and even being offered money. They have stopped our rightful funds. If anyone receives such a call, take the money, it belongs to you… but vote for Trinamool,” he said.Abhishek also attacked the Centre on the gas crisis as well as its spiralling cost, questioning why people have to repeatedly stand in queues due to decisions taken by the central govt.“Earlier, LPG was priced at Rs 400, it is now Rs 1,000. Earlier, tea leaves cost Rs 150, and now they are Rs 400. Milk has gone up from Rs 28/litre to Rs 60/litre, and mustard oil has increased to Rs 200 from below Rs 100 earlier. Even our govt has made you stand in queues, but for initiatives like Duare Sarkar or Yuva Sathi,” he alleged.Abhishek also claimed that migrant workers from Bengal were harassed in different states for speaking Bengali. “They are being branded as Bangladeshis… We are even labelled as Mughals for eating fish. Bihar’s deputy CM said sale of fish should be stopped. Will they decide what we eat, wear, or speak?” he said.
