As the atmosphere for Lok Sabha elections 2019 is getting heated up, every political party is putting in all efforts in order to gain the maximum in terms of votes. In this process, they’re ready to include all kinds of attractions, including film stars so that the public is compelled to vote in their favor. Therefore, it came as no surprise when Trinamool Congress roped in actor Ferdous along with Bengali stars like Payel Sarkar, Ankush etc for campaigning in favor of the party. The twist in the tale, however, is that Ferdous is not Indian.
Yes, let that sink in. Ferdous, a Bangladeshi actor, has been roped in for campaigning in favor of the incumbent government in Bengal with respect to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He is campaigning for the TMC candidate from Raiganj in North Dinajpur district, Kanaia Lal Agarwal. To quote Musharraf Hussian, one of the campaigning agents for TMC, “Ferdous is a famous actor in Bangladesh and we requested him to take part in road shows for the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha election. He agreed.”
Musharraf further added, “Today, Ferdous, along with Tollywood actors Payel Sarkar and Ankush, participated in road shows in Raiganj and Hemtabad. On April 15, he will campaign in Karandighi and Islampur. Today, the response was excellent. We are expecting a good crowd on Monday, as well.”
To be honest, this situation is very worrisome. Bengal is one of the key states that is inflicted in the worst manner by illegal infiltration of immigrants from across the border. Be it the native Bangladeshis, or the Rohingya Muslims, illegal infiltration through Bengal has taken the form of a devastating threat to the security of eastern India.
To make matters worse, the incumbent CM of Bengal, Mamata Bannerjee, is making no efforts in order to control the infiltration. Rather, she is only making the job for the miscreants easier. With allowing a Bangladeshi national to actively campaign for the incumbent party in Bengal, Mamata Bannerjee led TMC is setting a dangerous precedent for national politics, where internal security can be compromised for the sake of a few votes.
Needless to say, the opposition led by BJP went hammer and tongs after TMC for the ruling party stooped to such levels. State President for BJP Dilip Ghosh harshly criticized the approach, as he said, “How can an Indian-registered political party engage a foreign national (Ferdous) for political road shows in West Bengal. I have never heard this before. It seems the party doesn’t have an Indian star for canvassing.”
Dilip further added, “Tomorrow, Banerjee will invite Pakistan Prime Minister Imaran Khan to campaign for the TMC. We condemn this as a Bangladeshi film star should not be a part of India’s biggest democratic festival. By engaging a Bangladeshi actor, the ruling party is trying to woo the nearly 50% Muslims voters in North Dinajpur. The Trinamool is scared of us and hence, bringing foreign actors here.”
The decision to invite Bangladeshi nationals for campaigning in favor of TMC only exposes the darker side of Mamata Banerjee further. She is so scared of the challenge posed by BJP led NDA that she is ready to stoop to any level, just for the sake of gaining a chunk of votes. We hope the voters of Bengal teach her a lesson in the upcoming polls.