Mamata extends support to farm stir as Tikait calls on her
KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that in a federal structure, there should be a union of state governments to take on the Centre if any state is harassed.
Banerjee, whose third term in office began on a confrontational note with the Centre, was speaking after meeting a delegation of farmer leaders led by Bharatiya Kisan Union’s (BKU) Rakesh Tikait at the state secretariat, Nabanna. In it, Banerjee extended her support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation against three controversial farm laws. “We are ready to support the ongoing farmers’ protest till the time the demands are met.
They (farmer leaders) have requested me to speak to other chief ministers (of non-BJP ruled states) so that together we could hold a virtual conference with the farmers. I will surely speak to chief ministers so that we can send a letter unanimously. This will give them some strength before the Lok Sabha polls,” Banerjee said.
She urged all chief ministers of states not ruled by the BJP to stick together. “I would urge every opposition party to unite (against the BJP) to save the democracy,” Banerjee said. The chief minister lashed out at the Centre for its vaccination policy and the spiralling fuel prices and said in a federal structure, it isn’t right for the Centre to try to bulldoze the states.
“The Prime Minister need not take credit for giving free vaccines. This is not BJP’s money. It is people’s money. Even the Supreme Court has directed the Centre to give more importance to the states and the federal structure,” she said.