Kolkata, Dec 6 (PTI) Cautioning against any attempt of polarisation along religious lines, West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim on Sunday asked people to steer clear of "certain elements" who seek votes by chanting 'Jai Shree Ram' or 'Allah Ho Akbar'.
Addressing a meeting at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, the senior TMC leader said communalism can never usher in development.
"Please be careful against any attempt of polarisation. We cannot ask for votes by chanting Jai Shree Ram or Allah Ho Akbar like some other forces. If you side with these communal forces, you will invite trouble," the state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development minister said.
Without taking any name, he also asked people to "be on guard" against a Hyderabad-based party that seeks to use "divisive policies to win votes", in an apparent dig at Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM.
Referring to BJP state president Dilip Ghosh's recent claim that "Bengal will be turned into another Gujarat once the saffron party came to power", Hakim said, "We will never allow them to turn Bengal into a place, where 2,000 people were killed years ago in state-sponsored attacks."
On the industrial front, Bengal has topped the list when it comes to setting up of MSMEs, and the state also safeguarded rights of farmers over land, he claimed.
Talking about the dissenting voices within the party, Hakim said, "Why did they not air grievances, if any, one or two years ago? Why now, all off a sudden?"
"Has the BJP whispered into their ears that they have not been given due respect? Is it because one jackal howled, others have joined? It will not serve any purpose. People are with Trinamool, which is like a big sea," he said.
