BJP national vice-president Dinesh Sharma today alleged that West Bengal has become a "nursery" for anti-national elements and "leads" in crime and corruption.
"After coming to Bengal I find that it has left behind all other states in corruption, crime and rapes. Corruption is at its peak," Sharma told reporters here.
The state, he alleged, has become a "nursery" for terrorists, who come from neighbouring countries to take shelter.
"It is because of appeasement for vote bank politics that all this is happening in the state. And that is why development is stalled," Sharma said adding that Trinamool Congress has "left behind Congress and other parties in the appeasement race".
On the possibility of a coalition between Congress and Left for the coming state assembly polls, he said they have the same ideology and TMC too believes in a similar one.
Asked about the arrest of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charge in connection with an event organised on the institute's campus, he said it was done on the basis of clippings shown by TV channels.
"The (TV news) channels have exposed them. It is on the basis of these clippings it has been proved that who is guilty. Just like the mirror does not lie, the camera too does not lie. Not only has the voices been caught on camera but also the visuals," Sharma said.
The BJP national vice-president said had Congress or TMC protested against the event held in JNU campus against the hanging of Afzal Guru he would have praised them.
"If you don't criticise it means that somewhere you have some sympathy for elements who want division of the country, who want to take Kashmir away from us," the BJP leader said.
The Samajwadi Party remains a strong rival, he said,
despite the feud in the ruling Yadav clan as it has a "big base" and BSP supremo Mayawati's appeal to Muslims to vote for her party is an indication that its support base was slipping away.
BJP is better prepared for the assembly polls compared to the Lok Sabha poll in UP, he said, adding that it has formed booth committees in 87 per cent of total booths against 36 per cent in 2014.
Asked what difference does he find in the UP election compared to Bihar, another key Hindi heartland state where the party had lost badly last year, he said light-heartedly, "There is a change in atmosphere. Surgical strikes have happened."
He also rubbished the opposition's criticism of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar over his comments over the strikes, wondering who will speak if not the Defence Minister on this issue.
Asked about the issue of triple talaq among Muslims, he said the party and the Centre remained firmly against it.
A section of Muslim clerics has lashed out at the government over its stand on the matter, presently being heard by the Supreme Court.
He, however, noted that the matter has been in courts since the UPA's time and not "BJP-sponsored".
If the issue flares up, it will only help the party, BJP leaders said.
