Mamata raises pitch for antibjp Federal Front
MISSION 2019 TMC chief proposes to hold ‘mega rally’ to bring Oppn leaders on one stage
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday raised the pitch for a proposed anti-bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Federal Front, stating that her party will hold a rally next year to bring Opposition leaders on the same stage.
Speaking at her party’s Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata, Banerjee gave a “BJP hatao” (remove BJP) call and said the TMC will organise a rally for all Opposition parties at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground on January 19 “to take control of the country in 2019”.
“Bengal will show the way (for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls),” the TMC chief said.
The BJP was quick to retort, with its national secretary Rahul Sinha announcing that the party will hold a counter-rally at the same venue on January 23 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the key speaker.
At Saturday’s rally, Banerjee said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will not manage to win more than 150 seats in the 2019 polls. She also dismissed the NDA government’s victory in Friday’s no-confidence vote, stating that the ruling coalition only enjoyed support inside Parliament but “outside the Parliament, the BJP has already been outnumbered”.
“The government got 325 votes yesterday (Friday), while 126 went against it. But 2019 is going to be different. Yesterday AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) backed the government. But next year, they won’t get any seat in Tamil Nadu,” she said.
The Bengal chief minister accused the NDA government of spreading hatred in the country. “They think they are bigger dictators than (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini. They are preaching hatred. They assumed power through riots and still have blood on their hands,” she said.
The BJP, however, brushed aside Banerjee’s charges. “It is evident that Mamata Banerjee is afraid of BJP. This is going to be the last Trinamool rally in the state. From next year, they have to hold the rally in somebody’s courtyard,” Sinha said.
Predicting that BJP’S tally will fall across the country, Banerjee said: “In UP, if Mayawati and Mulayam (Singh Yadav) come together, BJP will win a maximum of 30 out of 80 seats. In MP, they will get eight seats at the most. In Rajasthan, they will get a maximum of five of the 25 seats and in Gujarat, the party will not get any.”
She added that the right-wing party’s fortunes will be no better in Bihar, Odisha and Punjab and said the TMC will win all 42 seats in Bengal.
Union minister Babul Supriyo dismissed Banerjee’s poll predictions as an “indication of frustration”. KOLKATA: Former Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, Chandan Mitra, and four Congress MLAS in the West Bengal assemblyjoined the TMC at its annual Martyrs’ Day rally here in the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday.
The Congress MLAS who joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are Samar Mukherjee, Abu Taher, Sabina Yasmin and Akhruzzman.
Former CPI(M) MP Moinul Hassan too joined the TMC at the programme.
Mitra, who had resigned from the BJP a few days ago, is considered close to veteran leader L K Advani. Editor of a national English language daily, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2003 when the Bjp-led NDA under Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power at the Centre. He was again elected to the House in 2010 from Madhya Pradesh on the party’s ticket.
However, his political stock within the party plunged under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah and he was left with little organisational responsibility.
BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha downplayed Mitra’s switch to the TMC, saying his departure his would not have any impact on the BJP.