West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the government it leads at the Centre, claiming there is reign of fear across the country.
“People are unable to speak due to reign of fear across the country,” Banerjee said while addressing a virtual rally of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Calling the BJP a party of “outsiders”, Banerjee said they will never get a chance to run West Bengal. “The central government has neglected us. People of West Bengal will give them a befitting reply. Outsiders will not run the state. There are some people who don’t have any political experience. They speak of killing people and setting things ablaze,” said the chief minister.
Sharpening her attack further, Banerje said that the Centre is conspiring against “Bengal by saying every day there is violence”.
“What about UP where ‘jungle raj’ prevails? What is happening in Uttar Pradesh? People in that state are afraid of lodging complaints with the police. Several policemen were killed in a single incident,” she said.
“Centre has deprived West Bengal of resources, people will give a befitting reply for injustice,” Banerjee added.
The chief minister also accused the BJP of using the state agencies to try and topple the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and attacked the saffron party of “destabilising governments in Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan”.
Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress will win the assembly elections this time too. “Trinamool Congress will form the government again. The next elections will show a new direction to the state as well as to the country,” the TMC chief said.
Assembly elections are due in West Bengal next year and the BJP has vowed to dethrone Banerjee. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP won 18 of the state’s 42 seats, marking the party’s highest ever growth in Bengal.
The party has attacked Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress for violence in West Bengal. On June 9, Union home minister Amit Shah sharpened his attack on the chief minister, saying that while democracy has strengthened its roots in the entire country West Bengal remains the only state where political violence is propagated.
Banerjee had stormed to power in 2011 by overthrowing the 34-year-old Left government. Before coming to power, Banerjee had promised to end political violence but killings and turf wars continued.
The 2018 panchayat polls saw a spate in violence. While only 10 people died on the day of polling, against an all-time high of 76 in 2003 and 39 in 2013, the elections stood out because of rigging, booth capturing and burning of ballot papers in front of the media and policemen. More people were killed after the elections.
