New Delhi: Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma It was important to seal West Bengal’s border with Bangladesh, she said on Thursday and alleged that “infiltrators” from the neighboring country were entering the state under the watch of Mamata Banerjee.Campaigning in the poll-bound state just days after elections in Assam, which borders West Bengal, the BJP leader expressed confidence that the party would win both elections.
“Our only concern is why Bangladeshis should be allowed to enter our country. Mamata Banerjee will not allow us to stop them from entering. Separating the borders is very important, especially in West Bengal,” Sarma told reporters after a public rally.“We will get 100 seats in Assam and 200 seats in West Bengal,” he added.Sarma also criticized Banerjee for alleged cattle smuggling in West Bengal and claimed that the BJP would curb this if voted to power. He further maintained that meat has never been banned in the BJP-ruled states.“Every day, animal sacrifice rituals are performed at Maa Kamakhya (temples in Guwahati), but there is no ban on eating meat in Assam. Mamata Ji fears that when the BJP comes to power, meat will be banned. There are BJP governments in Assam and Bihar, but meat is not banned. She fears that with the BJP coming to power, cattle smuggling in her state will stop,” he said.Polling in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. In the first phase, 152 of the 294 assembly constituencies will go to polls, while the remaining seats will go to polls in the second phase.Counting of votes will take place on May 4 in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.The BJP, which has been in power in Assam since 2016, is aiming for a hat-trick of victories. It is the main opposition party in West Bengal, where Banerjee’s All India Trinamool Congress party has been in power since 2011 and is seeking a fourth consecutive term.
