‘Appeasement era over’: CM vows investment, nat’l security focus

Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday declared the era of "goonda raj" and appeasement over, promised to attract investment and jobs for educated youth, and said national security would now be the state's top priority.Speaking at a programme in Alipore, Adhikari said the police — whom he alleged had earlier functioned as party cadre — had changed. "Past is past. Trust me and let's join hands to build a strong Bengal," he said, urging investors to come to the state with an assurance of BJP support.Attacking the previous govt on border security, Adhikari alleged that around 600 km of the Bangladesh border remained unfenced because the Trinamool govt had withheld land from the BSF."They did this to help infiltrators, and thus the demography of Bengal changed. They did not think about national security — security was compromised. Now national security is our first priority," he said.On religious freedom, Adhikari alleged that permissions for Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti and Geeta Path at the Maidan had to be sought from the High Court. "People were tortured a lot," he said.Calling Bengal both India's cultural and spiritual capital — citing Ramakrishna and Sarada Ma — Adhikari promised better facilities at religious centres, including improved arrangements for pilgrims at Tarakeswar during the Shravan month. He also announced plans to develop the Sagar Mela into an international event.