Ranaghat (West Bengal) [India], April 26 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging widespread corruption in teacher recruitment, housing, and cyclone relief. He warned that 'no one will be spared'.

He added that the scale of alleged corruption was so large that Banerjee 'will have to atone for her sins for 71 births', while calling for strict legal action against those involved.

'I say to all the corrupt people of Mamata, no one will be spared, whether it is the teacher recruitment scam, whether it is the Prime Minister's housing scam, whether it is the Ampham scam, no one is going to be saved. Catch each and every one of them, and throw them behind bars of jail. There has been so much corruption that Mamata didi will have to atone for her sins for 71 births,' Shah said while addressing an election rally at Anulia Stadium Ground in Ranaghat Dakshin Assembly Constituency.

The Union Home Minister issued a direct challenge to Mamata Banerjee, declaring that the BJP will never permit the construction of a 'Babri Masjid' on Bengal's land.

Highlighting the 550-year struggle for the Ram Mandir, Shah claimed that the Mughals, the British, and the Congress, followed by the TMC, had long obstructed its construction. He asserted that it was only after voters made Narendra Modi the Prime Minister in 2019 that the temple was finally built.

He further alleged that Banerjee was attempting to use her political power to facilitate a mosque project in West Bengal.

'To stop the cow slaughter, to save the cows, we will form a separate squad and finish the mafia. For 550 years, first the Mughals, then the British, then Congress, then Mamata, stopped the Ram Mandir. In 2019, you made Modiji the Prime Minister. Modiji built the Ram Mandir. Modiji built the Ram Mandir, and Mamata didi, with all her might, on the land of Bengal, she wants to make the Babri Masjid. Mamata didi, listen to me, as long as any BJP worker is alive, on the land of Bengal, we will not let Babri Masjid be built,' Shah said.

Amit Shah criticised Mamata Banerjee over the law and order situation and women's safety in West Bengal, asserting that the 'goons who torture mothers and sisters' will be put in jail.

'Mamata didi will oppose me. Mamata didi, what do you want? Should we hug the goons? The goons who destroy people with bomb blasts, RG Kar, Sandeshkhali, Calcutta Law College, Durgapur Law College, the goons who torture mothers and sisters. If you like it, then feed us potatoes at your homes. We will put them in jail. Mamata didi, shamelessly, says that after 7 pm, mothers and sisters should not step out of their homes. Being the Chief Minister, instead of protecting mothers and sisters, you are refusing to step out of your homes. Sisters, I say, Rana Ghat, Uttarakshin, both win. After 5 pm, even at 2 pm, a small girl will leave with a scooter. No goon will touch her,' he said.

Polling for Phase I of the Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Thursday, with West Bengal recording a significantly higher voter turnout of 91.78 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The high turnout figures underline an active electoral exercise as polling drew to a close amid tight security arrangements across constituencies.

The polling for the second phase will begin on April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. (ANI)