Bengal has become nursery for anti-national elements: BJP

KOLKATA: 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.