Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday claimed that as many as 6,900 companies operating in West Bengal had either shut down or shifted their bases to other states between 2011, when the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to power, and 2025.

“From 2011 to 2,025, a total of 6,900 companies in West Bengal were either closed down or their management shifted to other states. Out of these companies, 110 companies were listed on the share market. West Bengal once had quite impressive figures both in terms of gross state domestic product and per capita income, which have declined during the Trinamool Congress regime,” Shah said.

He was addressing a mass rally-cum-workers’ conference of the BJP at Siliguri in Darjeeling district in north Bengal on Saturday afternoon.

This is the second rally that Shah addressed in West Bengal on Saturday, the first being at Barrackpore in the North 24 Parganas district earlier in the day.

HM Shah also drew a comparative analysis between the central funds allotted for West Bengal during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime since 2014 and the previous UPA regime.

During the previous UPA regime from 2004 to 2014, only Rs 2,00,000 crore of central funds were allotted for West Bengal. But during the NDA regime since 2014, the central fund allotment for West Bengal was as high as Rs 10 lakh crore. But where did this money vanish? All had gone to the corruption syndicates of the ruling Trinamool Congress. If the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, the heads of these syndicates will be behind bars,” said the Union Home Minister.

He also accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of neglecting the development in North Bengal. “The current regime had only viewed North Bengal as a duck laying golden eggs. If the BJP comes to power, the budgetary allocations for North Bengal would be much higher,” Shah said.

The Union Home Minister also reiterated the BJP’s hard line on illegal infiltration. “If the BJP comes to power in West Bengal, not only will the new state government stop illegal infiltration, but it will also deport the existing illegal infiltrators to their countries one after another,” he said.

“That is exactly why Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress are so scared of the special intensive regime, since this exercise will be instrumental in identifying the illegal infiltrators,” the Union Home Minister said.

–IANS

src/skp