Kolkata, Jan 29 (NationPress) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised concerns regarding the alleged coercion of schoolchildren and self-help group (SHG) members to attend a public rally led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Singur, Hooghly district.

During the rally, which took place on Wednesday afternoon, BJP leaders claimed that pressure was exerted on school students and SHG workers to ensure their attendance.

Amit Malviya, the BJP's Information Technology Cell Chief and its central observer for West Bengal, alongside Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, leveled these accusations against the ruling party.

Malviya posted a video on his official social media account, X, showing images of schoolchildren who were allegedly compelled to attend the rally, asserting that this reflects the Trinamool Congress government's exploitation of students to counter the Chief Minister's declining popularity in the state.

“The desperation evident in Singur is alarming. Students reported that their teachers instructed them to attend Mamata Banerjee’s rally. This is not genuine mobilization; it's a misuse of educational institutions and children for political gain,” Malviya articulated in his statement.

He further remarked, “Parents arrived at school to collect their children, only to discover they were taken to the rally. Utilizing schoolchildren for political events is both shameful and unacceptable. The urgency to save Bengal has never been greater,” he expressed on X.

Malviya also mentioned that this exploitation of schoolchildren has arisen due to previous tactics of coercing ICDS workers and local three-wheeler drivers to attend rallies by threatening to cut off their welfare benefits not yielding the desired results.

“Now, the pressure appears to be shifting to teachers, who are compelled to gather students from various schools in Hooghly to inflate attendance numbers. This is indicative of the current situation in West Bengal,” he stated.

According to Malviya, classrooms have become political arenas under the Trinamool Congress regime, which is leading to a loss of trust in government schools among parents.

“Education suffers, institutions deteriorate, and children bear the consequences. This is the clearest indication yet of Mamata Banerjee’s waning popularity, where coercion replaces consent,” Malviya concluded.

In a related context, LoP Suvendu Adhikari shared an audio clip through his social media account, X, featuring a local Trinamool Congress leader and a member of a Self-Help Group.

In the clip, the leader allegedly threatens an SHG member with the suspension of benefits under various welfare programs unless they attend the public rally.