BJP’s tactics cannot hold me back, I am a street fighter, says Mamata
BARASAT: Addressing her first rally after the 24-hour campaigning ban, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit out at BJP saying that being “mortally scared of her” they are trying different tactics to prevent her from reaching out to people not knowing that they will lose as she is an indomitable “street fighter” and fights like a “Royal Bengal Tiger”.
Addressing a public rally after 8.05 pm at Barasat in North 24-Parganas in support of her party’s candidate Chiranjeet Chakraborty, she urged people to judge the situation as the BJP leadership is carrying out poll campaigns at a time when she was being restricted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
She also attacked the Prime Minister and Union Home minister saying that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah run two syndicates of spreading lies to mislead the masses and play the Hindu-Muslim card for political mileage. She demanded that the ECI should not allow the Prime Minister to hold rallies on the day of polls.
“I am fighting like a Royal Bengal Tiger. I know that they will create more trouble for me in the next four phases of the Assembly polls in Bengal as all are sitting here taking responsibility to beat me. But they are ignorant of the fact that they cannot defeat me despite their best efforts,” Banerjee said, adding: “Keep one thing in mind that I know how to retaliate.”
Accusing BJP of using all Central agencies and organisations to “capture Bengal”, she said: “You will lose the battle despite engaging all agencies of the Centre, ministers from across the country and spending a huge sum of money just because your leader never fights the battle from the ground. But I am a street fighter and I always contest along with my workers instead of giving mere directions.”
The TMC supremo added: “I failed to campaign for my candidates for 24 hours and again it cannot be done for 72 hours ahead of the fifth phase of elections. So, we are almost losing 96 hours. But BJP leaders continued their campaign in the past 24 hours. I would leave it to the people to take their decisions only after judging the situation.”
Asserting that she has been a street fighter and won’t be cowed down by such “intimidation tactics” of the saffron camp, the feisty TMC boss said “efforts are on by the BJP and its agencies to stop her from campaigning”.
Terming BJP as a “worst party”, she said: “How can leaders of a political party say that people should be fired on the chest and four more persons should have been killed? The ECI should have banned the party politically. Instead, they have banned my campaign for 24 hours. What did I say? I had just asked people to go to cast their votes unitedly. I am still urging people from all communities and religions to cast their votes unitedly.”
She added: “Why does the Prime Minister hold poll campaigns on election days? It would not have mattered if he was a simple leader. But we have to keep in mind that he is the Prime Minister and he is a great liar. He misleads and cheats people, and considers himself as a super god. I would urge the ECI to stop the Prime Minister’s campaigns on poll days. I will also not hold rallies on those days,” Banerjee said, adding that both (Modi and Shah) misled the people during their rallies at Jalpaiguri, Krishnanagar and Burdwan.
“In Siliguri, Shah said there will be no NRC. He is lying as the Bill still exists. Again, in Jalpaiguri, he said I did not condole the death of the 18-year-old Rajbangshi youth just to bag the community’s votes. It is false as names of all five, who were killed at Sitalkuchi, including Rajbangshi youth Ananda Barma, were written on the column where I paid floral tributes. He was killed in the firing by miscreants and I still believe that BJP was behind the incident. I am visiting Sitalkuchi tomorrow (Wednesday) and I am also ready to meet the BJP worker’s family members,” she said urging people to cast votes in favour of TMC as this election is to save Bengal and the country.
Banerjee also spoke about a series of development works carried out by her government at Barasat besides what her government did for the people of the Matua community starting from setting up a college to giving Banga Bibhushan to Baroma. This comes when Shah claimed that she did nothing for people from the Matua community.