“Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither appointed any MP from West Bengal as a Cabinet minister nor any Union minister of state, independent charge. Forget about me, even a very senior MP like Surender Singh Ahluwalia has been denied the post of a Cabinet minister,”
Babul Supriyo (IANS file photo)
Asansol MP Babul Supriyo, who recently joined Trinamul Congress, lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi today after returning from New Delhi, saying that Modi doesn’t trust Bengalis.
Supriyo announced that he has decided to resignation his Lok Sabha seat. However, he said he was unable to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla during his visit therefore, failing to submit his resignation.
“Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither appointed any MP from West Bengal as a Cabinet minister nor any Union minister of state of independent charge. Forget about me, even a very senior MP like Surender Singh Ahluwalia has been denied the post of a Cabinet minister,” alleged Supriyo.
Advertisement
Supriyo and another MP from Bengal, Debashree Choudhury, were appointed Union ministers of state after BJP won a record 18 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections. Both were however ousted after BJP fell short of expectations in the 2021 Assembly polls and instead four new faces were inducted.
Supriyo himself has served as Union minister of state in three different ministries – urban development along with housing and urban poverty alleviation, heavy industries and public sector enterprises, environment, forests and climate control during his seven-year tenure.
He alleged that the Centre is behaving like a stepmother with the MPs elected from Bengal. Trinamul is trying to usher in progress in the state and he is sure that chief minister Mamata Banerjee will win Bhawanipore bypoll comprehensively.
During his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign in Polo Ground, Modi had urged voters of the industrial belt by saying that he wants Babul in Parliament. The PM even attended the marriage ceremony of the singer-turned-politician
in New Delhi.
Supriyo’s remarks at this crucial juncture is salient particularly when there are upcoming bypolls and a new BJP state president has taken charge, political observers feel.
Advertisement
