Tag: Mamata Banerjee

  • Won’t cower down to intimidation, says Mamata Banerjee

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA:  Shortly after the 24-hour ban imposed by Election Commission on campaigning by her ended at 8 pm on Tuesday, a combative Mamata Banerjee lambasted “central agencies”, in a dig at the poll panel without naming it. She claimed that ‘intimidation tactics’ won’t stop her as the Trinamool Congress supremo reminded them that she was a street fighter. 

    “Why they are scared of me? The central agencies are in full swing against our party and workers. They are working at the behest of the BJP. It is Modi and Shah who are sending central agencies in Bengal,” Mamata said, addressing rallies at Barasat and Bidhannagar, both in 24 Parganas. In her first rally at Barasat at 8.05 pm, Mamata announced she will visit Cooch Behar on Wednesday as the EC’s two-day restriction barring political parties visiting the district. 

    Hitting out at Union Home minister Amit Shah, Mamata said, “He is visiting a house and BJP’s IT cell is circulating the photograph as if he is visiting every doorstep in Bengal. People of Bengal realise that this is BJP’s trick and it will not work.” The CM asserted that the people of Bengal would take a call on stopping her from campaigning whereas the saffron party leaders can campaign. “The BJP can campaign and I am not allowed to campaign. I will not say anything people of Bengal will take call on it. They are watching everything,” she said.

    TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O Brien put out a tweet in support of his party leader. “You banned her till 8pm. She will speak at 8.01 pm.” Prior to this, Mamata undertook a three and half hour dharna against the EC’s decision to ban her for campaign for 24 hours. The EC had barred Mamata from campaigning from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against the central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.  

    For her sit-in, Mamata began her sit-in alone next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with the security personnel having cordoned off the area.  A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, “No party member was allowed anywhere near the site of the dharna. She sat there alone.” Criticising Mamata over her decision to hold a protest in the city, BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh said the TMC supremo has “no regard for the poll panel”. “There have been instances when the EC banned our leaders from campaigning. …What she did is unacceptable.” 

    OPPOSITION LEADERS COME OUT IN SUPPORTEarlier in the day, opposition leaders came in support of Mamata as they slammed the poll body for its ban on the West Bengal chief minister. DMK chief MK Stalin on Tuesday said the Election Commission must remain impartial and neutral towards all parties. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut too expressed his support for Mamata, calling her a “Bengal Tigress.” Similarly, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the poll panel of acting like a BJP cell. In Patna, Tejashwi said the ban imposed on the campaigning against Mamata by the EC was illogical and unwarranted. 

  • ‘Why do you blame PM for everything?’: Rajnath Singh says Didi’s conduct unbecoming of a CM

    By ANI
    NORTH 24 PARGANAS (West Bengal): Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) senior leader and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing a public rally in West Bengal’s Swarupnagar on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying her conduct is unbecoming of a CM.

    “You talk nonsense about our PM. Why do you blame him for everything? I have also been a Chief Minister, I know how a CM should behave,” Rajnath said.

    The Union Defence Minister also slammed Banerjee for speaking and protesting against the Election Commission after the agency on Monday put a ban on her preventing her from campaigning.

    “EC has banned her for 24 hours citing MCC violation. She’s now against the EC. Didi, can you spare anyone?” Singh asked.

    The BJP leader also alleged that bombs were being made to attack opponents in the state.

    “I saw on TV that there’s a bomb factory here. I thought it was a government factory, but bombs were made to attack opponents. How was it possible to make bombs under the CM’s leadership? If BJP government is formed, there will be either bombs or us,” the minister further said.

    The fifth and sixth phases of the ongoing Assembly elections in the state will take place on April 17 and April 22. Counting of votes will take place on May 2. 

  • NOC not yet issued by Army for Mamata Banerjee’s Gandhi Murti protest

    By ANI
    KOLKATA: As West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is sitting on dharna at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata on Tuesday, as a mark of protest after the Election Commission (EC) imposed a ban on her for 24 hours from campaigning, an Eastern Command official informed that No Objection Certificate (NOC) has not been issued yet for the protest at the venue.

    “We received an application from Trinamool Congress (TMC) at 9:40 am, for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Kolkata’s Gandhi Murti as the area falls under Army’s jurisdiction. It is under process and NOC hasn’t been issued yet,” said an Eastern Command Official.

    Mamata is sitting on dharna at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata on Tuesday, as a mark of protest after the Election Commission (EC) imposed a ban on her for 24 hours from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm on April 12 till 8 pm on April 13.

    While sitting on the dharna she is keeping herself busy by painting.

    The Election Commission on Monday banned Mamata Banerjee from campaigning in the ongoing state elections for 24 hours and said she had made “highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with the serious potential of the breakdown of law and order and thereby affecting the election process”.

    The ban comes into force ahead of the fifth phase of Assembly polls in the state on April 17.

    The poll panel in its order condemned her statements “portent with serious law and order problems across the state (s)” and sternly warned her.

    It advised her “to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct is in force.”

  • ‘EC must ensure level playing field’: Stalin supports Mamata, tells poll body to be neutral

    By PTI
    CHENNAI: Supporting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday said the Election Commission must ensure a level playing field for all parties and maintain impartiality.

    As Banerjee began a dharna in Kolkata to protest against the poll panel’s decision barring her from campaigning for 24 hours, Stalin said ‘faith in our democracy rests on free and fair elections.’

    In a tweet, the DMK chief said the EC “must ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates and ensure that impartiality and neutrality is maintained.# Mamata Banerjee.”

    After the EC on Monday barred Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours, her party claimed that the poll panel was behaving like a ‘wing of the BJP’ and alleged the decision smacked of authoritarianism.

    The poll panel’s order came after Banerjee’s remarks against central police forces and her statement, which allegedly had religious overtones.

  • Bengal polls: Mamata stages dharna in Kolkata to protest against her 24 hours campaign ban

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sat on a dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission’s “unconstitutional” decision to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours.

    Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained last month, arrived at Mayo road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at the venue.

    No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby.

    A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, “No party leaders are allowed near the site of the protest. She is sitting there alone.”

    The Election Commission has barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

    ALSO READ | North Bengal firing: Instigation theory and conspiracy dominate Modi-Mamata slugfest

    Banerjee, lashing out at the poll panel, had said on Twitter that she would hold a protest against the poll panel’s “unconstitutional and undemocratic” decision.

    The TMC boss is scheduled to address two rallies after 8 pm on Tuesday — one at Barasat and the other at Bidhanangar.

    Meanwhile, a defence official here said that the area where Banerjee is staging a protest belongs to the army, and the TMC was yet to receive permission for the programme.

    “Just to keep everyone informed, we have received an application from the TMC for a no-objection certificate at 9:40 am today. It is still under process,” the defence spokesperson said.

  • EC’s decision to ban Mamata from campaigning taken at behest of BJP: Raut

    The Sena #39;s chief spokesperson expressed solidarity with Banerjee, while terming as the #39;Bengal Tigress #39;.

  • West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee barred from campaigning for 24 hours

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Monday barred West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

    “Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problems across the state(s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct is in force,” the order said.

    It said that the “commission also imposes a ban of 24 hours on Ms Mamata Banerjee from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm of April 12 till 8 pm of April 13”.

    Assembly elections in West Bengal began on March 27 and four of the eight phases of the polls have been completed.

    The poll panel’s order cited two separate notices to Banerjee on April 7 and April 8, and her subsequent replies.

    On her speech which had alleged religious overtones, the Election Commission (EC) said that Banerjee has “selectively chosen” parts of her speech in her reply dated April 9 and “did not mention anything on the context of key parts of her speech”.

    In her reply to the notice, the Trinamool Congress leader had said that “I did not seek to influence the voters to cast their vote for her on religious segmentary lines; rather I categorically spoke in favour of religious harmony in line with the spirit of Model Code of Conduct and the Constitution of India”.

    “By using words ‘I also will tell my Hindu brothers and sisters not to make division amongst yourselves as Hindu and Muslim’ it is evident that my speech was not to incite religious sentiments but to maintain peace and harmony,” the chief minister had said.

    The EC order reproduced the “key part” of her reported speech.

    The text of Banerjee’s speech quoted in the commission’s order read: “I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands don’t divide the minority votes after listening to the devil (shaitaan) person who had taken money from the BJP. He passes many communal statements and initiates clashes between the Hindu and the Muslims.”

    “The comrades of CPM and BJP is roaming around with the money given by BJP to divide the minority votes. Please don’t allow them to do so. Keep in mind that if the BJP comes to the government then you will be in severe danger”, read text of her speech quoted in the EC order.

    On her reported remarks against central armed police forces, Banerjee told the poll panel that she had only called upon the voters, specifically voters who are women, to protest democratically by “gherao” if and when somebody, including the forces, created any obstruction in their right to vote.

    “Gherao is one of the democratic ways of registering public protest and accepted, and there is no reason why gherao should be considered as illegal. Be it noted that the multi-dimensional word ‘gherao’ has been a legitimate entry in the in the political lexicon of West Bengal since the late 1960s, and in recent years, more frequently than not, the word has been used to connote peaceful satyagraha against authorities by silent victims of a situation,” she said.

    The order said in her reply, on remarks against central forces, Banerjee has “yet again conveniently left out key parts of her speech, perhaps due to selective amnesia”.

    The order reproduced portion of her speech to drive home the point that she had violated the model code, provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Indian Penal Code.

    “l know under whose instruction they beat up and how they beat up. It is your duty to save the family of the people. If any of our mothers and sisters suffers a single stroke with the stick attack them with ladle, spuds and knife. I am telling you. It is the right of women. And if anyone of our mothers and sisters is denied entry in the voting compartment all of you come out and revolt,” the order said reproducing portions of her speech.

  • Will stage dharna in Kolkata to protest against EC’s unconstitutional decision: Mamata

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Lashing out at the Election Commission over its decision to bar her from campaigning for 24 hours, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would stage a dharna in the city on Tuesday to protest against the poll panel’s “unconstitutional decision”.

    Taking to Twitter, she wrote, “To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon.”

    The poll panel’s order came after Banerjee’s remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

    “Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problems across the state (s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct is in force,” the commission said in its order.

    Assembly polls in West Bengal began on March 27, and the remaining four of the eight phases of elections will be held between April 17 and April 29.

    Members of the Trinammol Congress joined Banerjee in slamming the poll panel for its decision on her.

    Coming down heavily on the EC, TMC national vice-president Yashwant Sinha said every institution of democracy has been compromised.

    “We always had a doubt about the impartiality of the EC. But, today it has shed whatever pretence it had. Now it is clear that EC is acting at the behest of Modi/Shah and under their direct order.

    “Every institution of democracy is compromised today. What hope do we have?” he tweeted.

    ALSO READ | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee barred from campaigning for 24 hours

    Echoing him, other senior leaders of the party claimed that the poll panel was behaving like a “wing of the BJP” and its decision smacks of authoritarianism.

    Derek O’Brien, the ruling party’s Rajya Sabha MP, said it was a black day for India’s democracy.

    “EC stands for Extremely Compromised. April 12 BLACK DAY in our democracy,” O’Brien tweeted.

    “Always knew we were winning Bengal,” he added.

    Another party leader, Kunal Ghosh, said the decision to ban Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours is “atrocious and smacks of authoritarianism”.

    “The EC is behaving like a wing of the BJP. The ban is atrocious and smacks of authoritarianism. The sole aim of the EC is to stop Banerjee from campaigning as the BJP has already sensed defeat. This shameful,” he stated.

    The BJP, however, welcomed the decision and accused TMC of vitiating the poll discourse.

    “The EC did the right thing. The way TMC leaders are instigating the people against the EC and the central forces is unacceptable,” BJP leader Sourav Sikdar said.

  • North Bengal firing: Instigation theory and conspiracy dominate Modi-Mamata slugfest

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Two days after the Cooch Behar incident, Mamata Banerjee on Monday sought to give it a fresh twist, saying PM Modi was aware of the Central forces’ action even before it took place.

    Modi, in his speech in Burdwan, countered it by accusing her of instigating TMC workers against the forces.

    “Before the polling in Cooch Behar, local BJP leaders hatched a conspiracy with the superintendent of police. The firing took place under the instruction of the Union Home minister and the Prime Minister was aware of it. After coming to power, I will conduct a probe into it and the culprits will be punished,’’ said Mamata, while addressing a rally in Ranaghat, Nadia.

    She also showed a piece of paper and claimed she already got the names of the CISF personnel who opened fire at Sitalkuchi on April 10.

    Referring to the murder of first-time voter Ananda Barman in Sitalkuchu the same day, the Bengal CM said BJP supports had killed their own man.

    She wondered what kind of human beings are politicians who say that there will be more Sitalkuchi-like incidents and that the death toll there should have been higher.

    “Some political leaders are threatening of more Sitalkuchi-like incidents, while others are saying that the death toll should have been higher. I am stunned and shocked to see such reactions. What are these leaders up to? They should be politically banned,” Banerjee told an election rally at Ranaghat in Nadia district.

    She raked up the isuue at a meeting at Basirhat.

    “A BJP leader is saying not four but eight persons should have been shot dead point blank range by central forces. I wonder why his comments are not censured by EC.”

    “Is he not inciting violence. A party like BJP which can make such statement should not be voted to power,” she said.

    At Ranaghat Banerjee alleged that the BJP is killing its own workers and leaders and damaging their vehicles “to bring a bad name to the TMC”.

    “Before conspiring to kill four persons in CISF firing, the BJP, a party of murderers, killed a Rajbongshi brother,” she said.

    Apart from the four people who were killed in CISF firing, another man was shot dead outside a polling booth by unidentified persons in Sitalkuchi constituency.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah has alleged that Banerjee paid tributes only to the four persons killed in CISF firing because they were from the minority community.

    Accusing the BJP of communalising the murder of young voters on polling day, Banerjee said, “You cannot succeed in your nefarious game to divide the people of West Bengal. This is not Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat.”

    Alleging that Shah had hatched the conspiracy of Cooch Behar killings with the full knowledge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the feisty TMC leader said, “After returning to power I will order a probe to unravel the sequence of events, who were involved, how it all started, whether any rumour was at play, everything.”

    She urged people not to vote for a party that encourages “firing on voters standing in a queue”.

    “One of the BJP MPs contesting the assembly poll has herself damaged the windscreen of her car to give a bad name to the TMC,” she said in an apparent reference to an incident in which the car of saffron party leader Locket Chatterjee was damaged during a TMC protest in Chunchura assembly seat.

    Banerjee lambasted Modi for “faking” his love for Dalits when in reality committing atrocities on them.

    “Modi and Yogi (UP CM) don’t you both feel ashamed for the attacks on Dalits in states like UP? Have you forgotten Hathras (incident) where a Dalit girl was raped and burnt and her father killed? Have you forgotten how Dalits are treated in your states, how they are attacked every day?,” she said.

    BJP leaders talk about giving so much respect to Dalits.

    But this is only for public consumption to get votes as in reality they never give Dalits due respect, she said.

    The TMC supremo said she is a Brahmin by birth and a devout Hindu who knows the scriptures by heart but does not give importance to caste identity.

    “My all time companion is a backward caste woman who cooks for me. I don’t advertise that by posing before cameras unlike some BJP leaders who bring cooked food from five star hotels for consumption at Dalit homes before camera,” she said.

    Shah had on several occasions lunched in the houses of tribals and dalits in several places where he had campaigned.

    “I consider myself inseparable from Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, SCs, STs, OBCs and all other communities. We don”t exclude anyone in the name of caste, community or religion. Unlike the BJP, we consider everyone as humans,” she said.

    Hitting out at Modi and Amit Shah for becoming almost daily passengers to West Bengal forgetting the rest of India,” she said and Rs 100 crore is spent to covering all expenses for a public meeting by the prime minister.

    “This money could have been used for the weddings of hundreds of Dalit and minority women,” she said.

    Banerjee said that the TMC government in West Bengal had given land rights to people settled in refugee colonies in the state, whereas the BJP has sent 14 lakh Bengalis in Assam to detention camps.

    “The same fate may await you if they (BJP) come to power in West Bengal,” she told the audience.

    Banerjee alleged that the prime minister is “intentionally disturbing her. My helicopter is not being allowed to land at many places which are booked in the last minute for PM’s election meeting forcing us (TMC) to alter our schedules which were decided earlier.”

    Taking umbrage at Modi addressing her as “Didi o Didi” she said “the way he is cracking a joke it looks like he is a young man making passes at a woman of the locality. This is below standard. I know many things about you – Modi and Shah. But I have the dignity not to stoop so low,” she said.

    “I am forced to say that someone who did not give due recognition to the women in his life can crack such jokes In contrast you know my relationship with my late mother,” said Banerjee, who is known to have shared a very close bond with her mother said.

    At a meeting in Dumdum in the city, an erstwhile Red citadel, Banerjee said “BJP leaders can murder with a smile on their faces while eating rasogolla”.

    The chief minister said she is ready to send misti doi (famed sweet yogurt of Bengal) , mango from Malda, delicacies like narkel naru (sweets made from cocoanut) to Modi as a courtesy, as we are hospitable. But we cannot give you Bengal. We won’t allow you to create Gujarat or UP in Bengal.”

    Iterating her charge against the EC for acting in a partisan manner, she said “With folded hands I tell the EC please do not listen to BJP. Listen to all if you are not a partial body.”

    Banerjee said EC had removed several police and state officials just before the polls in the state and appointed officials as instructed by BJP.

    “As per the established procedures and traditions you (EC) are wrong. You didnt seek our views while removing our DIG, SPs and others,” she said and alleged that There may be a plan to murder me.”

    The TMC supremo said she had asked Modi to sit face to face with her in an open forum of debate but the PM did not take up the offer.

    About Modi’s comments that she has not done much for members of Matua community in the state, Banerjee said that if it is proved true she will resign.

    Ask members of the (Matua) community (about programmes taken up by her) But If Modi babu is proved to have lied, what will he do? she said.

    “I sanctioned a railway station, set up Harichand Thakur Guruchand College, Matua Development Board and Namasudra Board among others. What about him? His only contribution seems to be to visit Bangladesh during vote. Why did he go to he went to Orakandi?” Modi had visited the Thakur Bari temple at Orakandi in Bangladesh during his visit on March 27 to reach out to the Matuas, who form a large vote bank in several districts.

    Banerjee said while the TMC government announced holidays for all festivals and birthdays of leaders, the Modi government has failed to do so for birthdays of Netaji and Rabindra Nath Tagore.

    “I am ashamed. We never had such a PM in our country before,” she said.

    Banerjee categorically denied that she had turned away heavy industry from Singur, a key issue in this state election.

    “As promised we had returned farm land at Singur. Till this date those who have lost their land to the small car factory) are getting allowances.”

    She blamed Modi for the poor rate of vaccination for COVID-19.

    “I had told the PM to help us in our endeavour to vaccinate everyone. I had written a letter to him expressing the state’s readiness to buy vaccines for every resident of state. But he did not respond.”

    The TMC chief blamed Modi and Shah for the closure and sale of PSUs and said “The Rafael scam will also be unravelled one day.

    Modi, on the other hand, hit out at the CM and said: “Didi, in your speech you instigated your workers. You asked your supporters to gherao Central force personnel. Was it to cast false votes by confining Central forces? The firing was a result of your instigation.” 

    Modi sought Dalit votes and targeted the Trinamool for allegedly ignoring the community. “Your karyakartas described Dalits as beggars and you have not yet condemned it. It is an insult to the backward community. No one gives you the right to insult a community. This section of voters will give you a befitting reply in this election,’’ said Modi.

    Dalits form 23 per cent of the total electorate in the state and they are the deciding factors in at least 35 Assembly constituencies, spread both in north and south Bengal.He said the Bengal CM was continuously attacking him. “Didi is not uttering a word about Bengal. In rallies she is uttering only Modi, Modi and Modi. Why are you so angry?’’

    Home minister Amit Shah, who addressed rallies in north Bengal and held a road show in Siliguri on Monday, also condemned the Bengal chief minister for demanding his resignation on the Cooch Behar incident.

    “You are asking me to step down. Didi, I am carrying my resignation letter in my pocket. The day the people of Bengal want me to resign, I will. But you should be ready to resign on May 2 (the day of results,’’ said Shah. 

    Modi, who is on a whirlwind election tour of the state addressed rallies in Bardhaman and Kalyani, where he came down hard on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of instigating people against central forces on election duty in the state.

    The prime Minister also launched a blistering attack on Banerjee, saying she did not care to express regret after a “leader very close to her” called Scheduled Castes “beggars”.

    “People of Bengal hit so many fours and sixes that BJP has already completed a century (of seats) in the first 4 phases of assembly polls.

    They have wiped out the TMC in half the match (aadha mein poora saaf).

    “People of Bengal have clean bowled Didi in Nandigram and have asked her entire team to leave the field,” he told an election rally in Bardhaman.

    Mocking TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s “Ma, Mati, Manush” slogan, the prime minister said, “Tormenting ‘Ma’, looting ‘Mati’ (motherland) and bloodshed of ‘Manush’ (people) is its reality.”

    Alleging that Banerjee incited people against central forces, he referred to the killing of four in the firing by CISF personnel in Cooch Behar on April 10.

    “In the last 10 years Mamata Banerjee conspired to deny the scheduled castes, the poor and the deprived sections their rights through ‘chappa vote’ (rigging).”

    “What happened in Cooch Behar was the consequence of this conspiracy. Victory and defeat are part of democracy but you will not be allowed to snatch away people’s right to vote,” he told another rally in Kalyani in Nadia district.

    He said Banerjee’s policies have snuffed out the lives of children of countless mothers.

    In both the rallies, Modi castigated Banerjee over a TMC leader and candidate’s comments against the Scheduled Castes equating them with beggars.

    “Didi calls herself a Royal Bengal Tiger. You tell me is it possible for someone to say such things without her permission? Such comments hurt the soul of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Such a seriously objectionable comment has been made but Didi hasn’t condemned it or apologised for it.”

    “You have committed the biggest mistake, the biggest sin by insulting Dalits, Didi,” Modi said.

    Addressing a rally in Matua dominated Kalyani, Modi said Didi didn’t like his visit to Orakandi in Bangladesh where the founder of the Matua sect and social reformer Harichand Thakur was born.

    “Didi did not like my going to Orakandi in Bangladesh, she raised questions over my visit. I have come to assure you today that all refugees will get all facilities due to them, they will get justice. For the BJP, providing justice to all refugees, Matua and Namasudra brothers, is also an emotional commitment,” he said.

    Matuas, originally from Bangladesh, migrated to West Bengal in large numbers after Partition and later during the war for Bangladesh’s freedom from Pakistan.

    Many of them have got Indian citizenship and many not.

    The TMC had objected to Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in the middle of the election campaign claiming it was designed to influence voters in West Bengal.

    The prime minister alleged Banerjee’s appeasement politics hurt Matua and Namsudra communities hard and they had to pay commission to “TMC’s extortionists” even to obtain scheduled caste certificates.

    Accusing Benerjee of dividing people, Modi said “Jukto koro-Seva Koro” (uniting people and serving them) is his motto.

    “Didi knows Congress could not return to power once ousted, Left could not return once removed from power, you too will never be able to bounce back,” he said.

    Mocking Banerjee, Modi said she had forgotten her party’s motto ‘Maa, Maati, Manush’ and is only chanting his name at public meetings.

    She only created a mess in the name of governance, the prime minister said.

    Referring to the recent incident of lynching of a Bihar police officer in West Bengal and the death of his mother from shock which led to their funeral pyres being lit together, Modi said Mamata Banerjee’s government does not respect anyone anymore, “not even mothers”.

    “Didi, is that officer’s mother not a mother for you? No mother in Bengal knew how cruel and ruthless you are,” Modi said.

    He said Banerjee was getting angrier with each passing day because people of Bengal have decided to show her the exit door.

    “In democracy it’s the people who begin the game and end it, people of Bengal have decreed your ‘khela’ (game) is up. Didi wanted to hand over the reins to ‘Bhaipo’ (nephew). People saw through the ‘khela’ and decided it should be over,” Modi said, adding the countdown for her government’s departure has begun.

    Top BJP leaders have often said Banerjee wanted to hand over the reins of the party and the TMC government to her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek.

    He promised to revive the industrial belt in Kalyani and said the BJP has presented a roadmap for it in its election manifesto.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • WB polls: Mamata Banerjee says BJP killing own cadre, promises to probe Cooch Behar shooting

    By PTI
    RANAGHAT (West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in an apparent jibe at state BJP leaders, said on Monday that those threatening of more Cooch Behar-like killings should be banned politically.

    She wondered what kind of human beings are politicians who say that there will be more Sitalkuchi-like incidents and that the death toll should have been higher.

    Four people were killed in CISF firing after they “attempted to snatch the rifles of the central forces” while voting was underway in Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar district in the fourth phase on Saturday, sparking a political storm in the state.

    ALSO READ: NRC will have no impact on Gorkhas, says Amit Shah at Kalimpong

    “Some political leaders are threatening of more Sitalkuchi-like incidents, while others are saying that the death toll should have been higher. I am stunned and shocked to see such reactions. What are these leaders up to? They should be politically banned,” Banerjee said, while addressing an election rally at Ranaghat in Nadia district.

    BJP leaders were seen referring to the Cooch Behar killings and threatening that more such incidents may happen if “naughty boys” take the law into their hands and that more than four people should have been killed in the firing.

    Banerjee alleged that the BJP is killing its own workers and leaders and damaging their vehicles “to bring a bad name to the TMC”.

    “Before conspiring to kill four persons in CISF firing, the BJP, a party of murderers, killed a Rajbongshi brother,” she said.

    Apart from the four people who were killed in CISF firing, another man was shot dead outside a polling booth by unidentified persons in the same Sitalkuchi assembly constituency area.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah has alleged that Banerjee paid tributes only to the four persons killed in CISF firing because they were from the minority community.

    Accusing the BJP of communalising the murder of young voters on polling day, Banerjee said, “You  cannot succeed in your nefarious game to divide the people of West Bengal. This is not Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat.”

    ALSO READ: Mamata Banerjee ‘clean bowled’, BJP completed century already: PM Modi at Bardhaman

    Alleging that Shah had hatched the conspiracy of Cooch Behar killings with the full knowledge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the feisty TMC leader said, “After returning to power, I will order a probe to unravel the sequence of events, who were involved, how it all started, whether any rumour was at play…everything.”

    She urged people not to vote for a party that encourages “firing on voters standing in a queue”.

    Claiming that her government has given land rights to people settled in refugee colonies in the state, the chief minister said, “The BJP has sent 14 lakh Bengalis in Assam to detention camps. The same fate may await you if they come to power in West Bengal.”

    She asserted that though she is a Brahmin woman and a devout Hindu who knows mantras by heart, caste identity is not important to her.

    “I consider myself inseparable from Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, SCs, STs, OBCs and all other communities. We don’t exclude anyone in the name of caste, community or religion. Unlike the BJP, we consider everyone as humans,” she said.

    “One of the BJP MPs, contesting the assembly polls, has herself damaged the windscreen of her car to give a bad name to the TMC,” she said, in an apparent reference to an incident in which the car of saffron party leader Locket Chatterjee was damaged during a TMC protest in Chunchura assembly seat.