NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused West Bengal’s ruling party Trinamool Congress (TMC) of supporting “tukde-tukde gang” who had threatened to break the strategic Siliguri Corridor to cut off the Northeast from the rest of India. Addressing an election rally at Kawakhali ground in Siliguri, he said, “The country has a ‘tukde-tukde’ gang, and it threatened to cut off the Siliguri Corridor. They wanted to separate the Northeast from the country.” “The TMC, which indulges in appeasement politics, supports such people from the streets to Parliament. That is the real face of TMC,” he added, addressing his eighth rally in the state since elections were announced. The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the ‘Chicken’s neck’, is a narrow stretch of land in northern Bengal, about 20–22 km wide, and serves as the only land link between mainland India and the Northeast.PM Modi also urged voters to support a ‘double-engine government’ in the upcoming state polls, saying development in Bengal would move faster if the BJP comes to power in the state. He again accused the TMC of appeasement politics, claiming that while the state government had allocated funds for madrassa development, funds for north Bengal were not sufficient. The prime minister also alleged that the TMC had stalled central projects. Calling the state government “nirmam” (cruel), PM Modi said the people of Bengal had suffered under a “reign of fear”, especially in tea garden regions of north Bengal. He further alleged that illegal immigration was leading to demographic changes and affecting local jobs. “Infiltrators are eating into local jobs. It will be too late if the menace is not stopped right away. That’s why the mantra is ‘Kamal khilao, ghuspetia bhagao’,” he said, referring to the BJP’s election symbol. Urging voters to give the BJP a chance, he said Bengal had already tried the Congress, Left and TMC. “Give Modi a chance to ensure the security of daughters, to save Bengal from infiltrators and to provide jobs to youth within the state,” he said. PM Modi was campaigning for BJP candidates in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, where voting will be held in the first phase on April 23. The second phase will take place on April 29, and counting will be held on May 4.
