A mother and son who voted in Salt Lake lamented that issues like health, education and livelihood that bothered them found little or no mention in the political discourse, while religion and identities were being talked about in rally after rally.
Covid vaccine doses are in short supply and there are no vacant Covid beds in many hospitals but they are rarely spoken about, they said. “Instead, there are boasts about a Ram temple,” said Soma Ganguly, 55, a homemaker who voted in HA Block.
“I have grown up and lived in a Bengal where Sikhs were not touched during the 1984 riots, where Muslims did not feel insecure after the Babri Masjid demolition. The city and the state have always remained calm even when riots ravaged several parts of the country. But that peace and tranquillity is under threat now,” Soma said.