Business meet won't bring investments until Mamata acts against extortion, syndicates: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

During a press conference at the state BJP headquarters in central Kolkata, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said: "These business summits can't attract industrialists and bring investments until and unless Mamata Banerjee stops her party men from taking TTT, Trinamool Tolabaji (extortion) Tax, from the businessmen."

"Mamata Banerjee destroyed democracy in West Bengal and there is only poverty, unemployment, violence and the syndicate-rule in the state," Chouhan said.

"Mamata is hosting global business summits every year, show me, how much investment and how many industries she has brought to the state so far," the BJP leader added.

The BJP leader alleged that rate of violence during elections was the highest in West Bengal.

"During recently concluded elections, West Bengal witnessed a large-scale violence and several deaths across the state, and ruling TMC was there behind almost all unrest situations," Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

"Recently, Assembly election was peacefully held in India's largest state Madhya Pradesh and no incident of violence, rigging, booth capturing, death or any other casualty was reported there," the former MP chief minister added.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that situation of the opposition was the worst in West Bengal.

"BJP leader-activist-supporters are being assaulted and killed by TMC across West Bengal and our party offices are being vandalized everywhere. Days ago, TMC goons ransacked our party office in south Kolkata's Kalighat area, which is located metres away from Chief Minister's residence and it's an 144 zone," Chouhan said.

"What Mamata and her party are doing with the opposition parties in Bengal, never happened either in the state or in the country, not even during British regime," he added.

Talking about the recent face-off between Mamata Banerjee and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Chouhan said, "Mamata is attacking Narendra Modi over the CBI investigation into Saradha, Rose Valley chit fund scams. But when the Supreme Court mandated probe began into these Ponzi firm scandals in 2013, UPA-II government was in power."

"It was very unfortunate and surprising that Mamata sat on a dharna for a police officer who is not cooperating with the CBI in the probe. She never held such demonstrations earlier for the people who lost their savings of whole life in these chit funds, because she has no worries about the common people," he added.

When the BJP leader was asked about the recent chopper landing row in West Bengal, Chouhan told the reporters: "It's very unfortunate that Mamata Banerjee is trying to suppress the oppositions' voices by not giving permission to hold rallies and landing helicopters."

"Mamata government is not giving permissions to BJP's national leaders to land their choppers as they can't hold multiple rallies across the state and she is doing so because she knows very well that her autocracy is close to an end and angry people will bring BJP in the state very soon," Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

Talking about the united oppositions' camp, Chouhan said: "The 'unity' has neither a leader nor a common ethic and this is not maha 'gathbandhan', it's maha 'thagbandhan' (alliance of cheaters)."

"They have made the alliance not to save the nation, just to save themselves from the charges of different corruptions," he added.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, under whose leadership the BJP came second to Congress in Madhya Pradesh last year, said the Narendra Modi-led BJP and NDA will voted to power again in 2019.

"I strongly believe people will reelect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister and BJP will win in 300 Lok Sabha seats in 2019," Chauhan said.

"NDA will get nearly 400 seats in upcoming Lok Sabha polls and our votes as well as seats in a state like West Bengal will surely increase," he added.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)