PM 'peddling lies' about Sandeshkhali: Mamata
'Women are scared to go to Raj Bhavan due to Modi’s representative'
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of “peddling lies” about Sandeshkhali but not saying a word on the alleged molestation charges against Governor C V Ananda Bose.
Banerjee alleged that Centre’s “inaction” against the Governor who is accused of molestation by a Raj Bhavan staffer, shows the BJP’s “true anti-woman character”. She was addressing two back-toback election rallies in North 24-Parganas’ Amdanga and Howrah’s Amta.
“Why did the PM not ask the Governor to resign during his overnight stay at Raj Bhavan?” she asked. Women are scared to go to Raj Bhavan due to Modi’s representative, she said. PM Modi arrived in Kolkata on Saturday and stayed the night at Raj Bhavan before beginning his campaign in the state on Sunday morning.
Alluding to Governor Bose, Banerjee said: “PM’s representative in Bengal is a Laat Saheb at Raj Bhavan where women are now afraid to go. This is a constitutional crisis because if I need to talk to him, I have to do it elsewhere. No woman is willing to visit Raj Bhavan after some shameful deeds recently came to light. The PM should have asked him to resign from his post but he didn’t utter a single word. He is still peddling fake statements on Sandeshkhali.”
Accusing the PM of “peddling lies”, she said he should be ashamed that “BJP’s conspiracy” in Sandeshkhali has become public.
» ‘Today, the outgoing or ex-Prime Minister also conducted a public meeting in Barrackpore. He has given a guarantee stating the Matuas will have to apply under CAA. We will not allow this imposition. Matuas are already citizens as they have participated in the elections that made him the PM. They had voted for him. Isn’t he ashamed to deny their rights?’
» ‘Does he even read the law? No! He only listens to what a few of the agents whisper to him. If they lay a finger on my Matua brothers and sisters, it will be like laying a finger on me’
Banerjee was apparently referring to a purported video in which a local BJP leader was heard saying that over 70 women had received Rs 2,000 each for taking part in protests against TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh.
Banerjee also criticised the CAA move of the Centre. She said: “Today, the outgoing or ex-Prime Minister also conducted a public meeting in Barrackpore. He has given a “guarantee” stating the Matuas will have to apply under CAA. We will not allow this imposition. Matuas are already citizens as they have participated in the elections that made him the PM. They had voted for him. Isn't he ashamed to deny their rights?”
She added: “Does he even read the law? No! He only listens to what a few of the agents whisper to him. If they lay a finger on my Matua brothers and sisters, it will be like laying a finger on me.”
Referring to Modi's statement that the TMC government would snatch away the Scheduled Caste quota, Banerjee said: “Modi has accused us of giving reservations to minorities by excluding the Scheduled Castes. How is this possible when this is a constitutional guarantee? Why will Muslims snatch away the Scheduled Castes quota? Isn't he ashamed of sowing seeds of discord?”
“PM is trying to pit Scheduled Castes against Minorities as their plans for the Uniform Civil Code involve erasing the reservations and guarantees accorded to Scheduled Communities. Modi has already made this plan,” Banerjee said and added: “This is why they are engaging in divisive rhetoric now so that they are not caught doing this. UCC will take away the diverse identities of various communities including minorities, Tapashilis and Adivasis.”
constituencies going to polls are likely to experience normal to below normal temperatures, and there will be no heatwave-like conditions in these areas on polling day.
In light of the hot weather conditions and people's reluctance to step out in the afternoon, the Election Commission has extended poll timing in some Telangana seats. While the usual hours of voting are from 7 am to 6 pm, they are curtailed keeping in mind the terrain, time of sunset, and security situation.
Issues like reservations, appeasement politics, corruption, and jobs dominated the battle of narratives in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Among the 13 poll-bound constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, a close contest is on between SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and sitting BJP MP Subrat Pathak in Kannauj, while in Unnao, incumbent BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj is up against SP's Annu Tandon.
In West Bengal, the EC has identified 3,647 polling stations as “critical” across the eight constituencies. A total of 152 companies (around 100 personnel each) of central forces would be deployed in Bardhaman Purba district, followed by Birbhum (131), Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (88), Krishnanagar Police District (81), Murshidabad Police District (73), and Ranaghat Police District (54), an official said.
The voter turnout in the redrawn Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, following the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir in 2022, will be keenly watched as most of the areas under the seat had previously witnessed low polling percentages due to boycott calls given by the separatists. To encourage people to exercise their franchise, district election officers in the constituency organised various outreach programmes, used audio, visual and print medium, and also held street plays and sports events. Officials said all arrangements have been put in place for Monday's polling.
“A total of 17,47,810 voters have been enrolled in phase IV, including 8,75,938 men, 8,71,808 women, and 64 thirdgender voters. There are around 11,682 persons with disability and 705 voters above the age of 100 years,” they said. As many as 2,135 polling stations have been set up across Srinagar, Ganderbal, Pulwama, and parts of Budgam and Shopian districts where polling will be held.
Twenty-six special polling stations have been set up for migrant voters of Kashmir Division with 21 in Jammu, four in Delhi, and one in Udhampur District.
In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSRCP is contesting in all 175 Assembly seats and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. As part of a seat-sharing deal among NDA partners, the TDP was allocated 144 Assembly and 17
Lok Sabha constituencies while the BJP will contest from six Lok Sabha and 10 Assembly seats. The Janasena will contest two Lok Sabha and 21 Assembly seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the YSRCP had won 22 seats while TDP was reduced to just 3. YSRCP president and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Pulivendla), TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu (Kuppam), and Janasena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan (Pithapuram), among others, are in the Assembly poll race. With the polling on eight seats in Madhya Pradesh, elections to all 29 seats in the state will be completed. The eight constituencies spread over 64 assembly segments in 15 districts in the state's Malwa-Nimar region are considered the bastion of the BJP.
In Indore, after Congress candidate Akshay Bam withdrew his nomination at the last minute and joined the saffron party setting the stage for a one-sided contest for BJP's Shankar Lalwani, who won by nearly 5.4 lakh votes in 2019, the Congress urged voters to hit NOTA (None Of The Above) option. Polling for the next three phases in the country is on May 20, May 25, and June 1. The counting of votes is on June 4.