Pain of people more than mine: Mamata
Mocks BJP’s Rath Yatra; takes a dig at Amit Shah over cancellation of his first public meeting of the day at Jhargram
JHALDA/BALARAMPUR: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is still recuperating from the injuries she sustained last week in Nandigram, asserted on Monday that she would continue her fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “as long as her heart beats and vocal cords function” and that she decided to travel because the “pain of the people is greater than mine”.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, who addressed two rallies in Purulia during the
day, also said that no conspiracy or injury can stop her from taking forward her battle against the saffron camp, and said the BJP, despite bringing in leaders from Delhi, will cut no ice with the people of Bengal.
Banerjee, after filing her nomination in Nandigram on March 10, suffered severe injuries on her left leg, hips, arm, neck and shoulder as she fell down after allegedly being pushed by miscreants.
TMC leaders have claimed that BJP men orchestrated the attack, a charge denied by the saffron camp. The Election Commission of India has ruled that she suffered injuries following an accident, and not an attack.
“Wait for a few days, my leg will get better. I will see whether your legs get to move freely on Bengal’s soil,” the chief minister said at Jhalda.
BALARAMPUR: Launching a scathing attack on the BJP for nominating its sitting MPs from several assembly seats in Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday sought to know if they would be “spreading lies and engineering riots” after the elections.
Banerjee, while addressing a rally here in Purulia district, mocked the BJP’s ‘rath yatra’, and said she has always known that chariots are taken out for Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings.
“Some BJP leaders are moving around in so-called ‘rath’, but we have always known that Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings travel in chariots. Are they (BJP leaders) bigger than God?” the CM, who is still recuperating from the injuries she sustained last week in Nandigram, said.
Taking a dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over cancellation of his first public meeting of the day at Jhargram, Banerjee, insinuating that the rally was called off due to lack of attendees, said, “Had he requested, we would have sent some people to the venue.”
The TMC boss, who addressed the crowd sitting on a wheelchair, said the MPs nominated by the saffron camp have done nothing for the welfare of the state or its people.
“Some of the 18 BJP MPs nominated by the BJP have done nothing for the state. What they will do if they win? Spread lies and engineer riots?” she stated
Banerjee asserted on Monday that she would continue her fight against the BJP “as long as her heart beats and vocal cords function”.
The TMC supremo, who addressed two rallies in Purulia during the day, also said that no conspiracy or injury can stop her from taking forward her battle against the saffron camp, and said the BJP, despite bringing in leaders from Delhi, will cut no ice with the people of Bengal. “Wait for a few days, my leg will get better. I will see whether your legs get to move freely on Bengal’s soil,” the chief minister said at Jhalda, in a veiled attack on saffron camp leaders.
The feisty TMC boss further claimed that “no other government in the world has done as much work for its people as her dispensation”.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre over rise in fuel prices and disinvestment of PSUs, Banerjee said, “Their (BJP’s) PM cannot run the country, (he is) totally incompetent.” She further urged people not to cast their votes in favour of the Congress and the CPI(M), claiming that the two parties and the BJP are “all brothers-in-arms”.
“On March 10, I sustained injuries on my body. Maybe, due to good fortune, I was saved. Some may have thought I will not be able to go out at all with my broken leg, but (for me) people’s wellbeing is far more important than my own pain,” Banerjee noted.
Mocking the BJP’s ‘rath yatra’, Banerjee said that she has always known that chariots are taken out for Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings.
“Some BJP leaders are moving around in so-called ‘rath’, but we have always known that Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings travel in chariots. Are they (BJP leaders) bigger than God?” she said.
Raking up the “insider-outsider” debate, she asked the Purulia administration to seal the interstate border, claiming that she has information that some people are planning to enter the state to create disturbances.