‘Undeclared’ Prez Rule in Bengal: Didi
Trinamul chief says she’ll quit politics if BJP can match her work, vows to probe CISF firing
Accusing the Election Commission of imposing an “undeclared” Article 356 for the President’s Rule during the Assembly elections in West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday dared to quit politics if the BJP could show her even a single instance of its welfare work in comparison to her achievements of governance in the state.
“My request to the Election Commission is: Please do not listen to the BJP only. Listen to all. If you are an impartial body, you will have to be impartial also... An undeclared Article 356, which is the President’s Rule, has been imposed here for the polls. Though it is not publicly spoken about anywhere, it has been put in place. I can challenge them every moment and at every point. Constitutionally you are wrong. My point is constitutionally, factually and legally is correct,” the Trinamul Congress supremo told the EC at a party rally in Dum Dum of North Kolkata.
She claimed, “We have undertaken a lot of development work. We will complete 10 years in power in the next two months. The tenure includes four elections out of which two were about Parliament while the two others were about Assembly. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic is underway. So we actually got only five-six years for work. If the BJP can show me a single instance of its work against our volume of work in these years, I will then quit politics.”
Hitting out at the BJP over scams while in power at the Centre, Ms Banerjee alleged, “So many scams happened in defence. How long will you keep the Rafale scam a secret? One day it will be caught and will be out in the open. It has already started to unfold.”
The Trinamul Congress chief also indicted the BJP of killing it’s young worker — Ananda Burman — the first-time voter from the Rajbanshi community, at Shitalkuchi Assembly constituency in Cooch Behar of North Bengal during the fourth phase of polls so that it could later play the divisive politics of communalism in the next phases.
“Where is the justice in the killings of the four persons in firing? I also have documents. I also know planning. The superintendent of police (of Cooch Behar) was appointed by the BJP, not by us.
“He held a meeting with the BJP. I will ensure the firing be probed to find out who met where. A girl was seen running. She was sent to spread a rumour about her induction. Later the firing was conducted in a preplanned way,” Ms Banerjee argued.
So many scams happened in defence. How long will you keep the Rafale scam a secret? One day it will be out in the open. It has already started to come. — Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM