"Grand Alliance An Alliance Of Frauds": Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday termed the Opposition alliance as "heartless" and said it will not be able to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi from coming back to the helm in the 2019 elections.

The senior BJP leader claimed that the Opposition parties have "merely joined hands" in fear of PM Modi's unparalleled popularity across the country, and also to save themselves from being punished for their wrongdoings.

"There are two reasons of Mahagatbandhan. One is the fear of PM Modi's unparalleled popularity which will re-elect him as the Prime Minister of the country, and second is the fear of getting caught for the corruption and wrongdoings they have done," Mr Chouhan told reporters at the state BJP headquarters in Kolkata.

"It is not a gathbandhan (grand alliance) but a thug-bandhan (alliance of frauds). This is not an alliance of hearts. They have merely joined hands but such a heartless alliance will not be able to stop PM Modi from coming back to the helm," he said.

Mr Chouhan said the BJP alone will get close to 300 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, surpassing its previous tally of 282 seats in 2014.

Criticising the role of the Congress in the Opposition alliance, the BJP Vice President said while Congress President Rahul Gandhi supports Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's views, the state unit of the party opposes her.

"A group of 'mazboor' (compelled) people wants to stop a 'mazboot' (strong) leader from becoming the Prime Minister. They will never be successful. The country knows the truth," he said.

The BJP leader, who went to address a public rally in Bengal's Kharagpur by car on Wednesday after the Bengal government denied permission to land his chopper said: "I want to thank Mamata Banerjee for not letting my helicopter to land here. It gave me the opportunity to come by road and talk to people of Bengal on my way."

Coming down heavily on Ms Banerjee for holding 'save-constitution' dharna here after the CBI's attempt to question Kolkata police commissioner last Sunday, Mr Chouhan said: "You never sat on a dharna when lakhs of people lost their money in the chit fund scams or even when your party leaders were previously arrested. Then why are you so worried about the interrogation of a police officer?"

He also noted the CBI probe into the ponzi scheme scams started under the UPA regime in 2013 under the direction of Supreme Court.

The BJP leader said while the Congress submerged Bengal into poverty during its reign for 30 years, the Communist regime of 34 years brought violence and dismay, and the Trinamool Congress government has coupled the woes by introducing "syndicate-rule".

"Bengal has been turned into a den of terror. Today, the entire nation is asking questions. I want to tell Mamata ji, the more force you put in to stop BJP, the more shall we emerge victorious," he said.