Purulia/Bankura (WB), Mar 29 (PTI) A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah released a ‘chargesheet’ against the TMC government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said he should be chargesheeted “for his past deeds”, albeit without directly naming him, and alleged the BJP would stop the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme if it comes to power.
She also took umbrage over Shah’s apparent remarks about the injury she suffered during the 2021 Assembly polls and asked him to check the medical report, which detailed the extent of the damage to her leg.
While releasing the political “chargesheet” against the TMC government a day ago, Shah had accused the ruling party’s supremo of having “always played the politics of the victim card”.
“Sometimes she talks about her injury; sometimes she abuses the Election Commission. But the people of West Bengal now understand her victim card politics very well,” he had said.
On Sunday, Banerjee, while canvassing for Sandhya Rani Tudu, her party’s candidate in Purulia district’s Manbazar, said, “They are saying that I roam around with a bandage during the polls. I have repeatedly returned from the brink of death. Go and check the report of the doctor.” “Did you deliberately injure my leg during the 2021 elections? I campaigned in a wheelchair. Are you planning to kill me?” she said, sharpening her attack against the BJP.
Banerjee, however, did not name Shah while making the allegation.
About Shah’s ‘chargesheet’ against her government, Banerjee said, “A big leader came from Delhi yesterday and filed a chargesheet against the TMC.” “Who are you to file a chargesheet? You should be chargesheeted,” she said while listing several past allegations against Shah.
Referring to the deportation of Indians from the US last year by the Donald Trump administration as part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants, the chief minister targeted the Union home minister, saying, “Where were you when Gujaratis were being pushed back from America with ropes around their waists?” Many deportees had claimed that their hands and legs were cuffed while they were pushed back from the US and were unshackled only after they landed in India.
Banerjee asserted that she is effectively the candidate for all seats and urged the electorate to place their trust in her leadership.
“You don’t have to see who the candidate is. I am the candidate. Place your trust in me and cast your vote. Trinamool will form the government no matter how many conspiracies they hatch.” “Let there be no return of violence in Jangalmahal. If money is offered before elections, don’t take it and don’t vote. We do not want bloodshed, we want peace,” Banerjee told the gathering.
She also rejected the BJP’s claims of demographic changes in Bengal as lies.
Banerjee accused Shah and the BJP of attempting to destroy the democratic setup of the country, as she alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to conduct repolls in booths under areas considered the TMC’s bastion.
“I will frustrate Delhi’s conspiracy. I do not want any power. I just want the people to be with me.” Addressing the rally, she listed her government’s welfare initiatives and warned the gathering that the BJP would discontinue the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme for women and put restrictions on people’s dietary preferences if it came to power following the polls.
“Fish is not eaten in BJP-ruled states. If the BJP comes to power, people will not be able to eat fish, meat and eggs. They will stop the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme,” she said.
The TMC supremo alleged that the BJP “doesn’t believe in any religion”. She also claimed that Bengali-speaking people are attacked in other states and that the ruling party at the Centre grabs power by “inciting riots”.
“These people incite riots. They come to power by inciting riots, they come to power by killing people… Tribals are attacked mostly in BJP-ruled states. Bengali-speaking people are attacked in BJP-ruled states. But here in Bengal, we do not oppress anyone,” she said.
Banerjee further alleged that 1.2 crore names of voters have been deleted through the SIR ahead of the assembly polls.
Later, at a rally in Bankura district’s Raipur, she highlighted the state government’s development initiatives and launched a broadside against the Central government, accusing it of undermining democracy and the Constitution.
She reiterated her claim that at least 220 people have died due to the SIR, and half of them were Hindus and the other half Muslims. However, there was no official data or confirmation of deaths during the exercise to revise the electoral rolls.
“SIR has destroyed democracy, the Constitution and development. Earlier it was notebandi (demonetisation), and now ‘votebandi’. This will be followed by ‘gharbandi’ and then ‘jailbandi’,” Banerjee warned the gathering in Raipur.
She claimed that several government officers, including members of the civil service, who “used to work brilliantly,” are now humiliated.
The West Bengal chief minister has been claiming that several senior officers have been “arbitrarily” removed to other poll-bound states, and has termed it a “political interference of the highest order”.
She also accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of economic mismanagement. “The central government has shut all companies. Under the BJP’s rule, unemployment has skyrocketed.” “On the contrary, it has gone down in Bengal,” the TMC supremo claimed.
On health schemes, Banerjee said, “Why should I allow Ayushman Bharat? We started Sasthya Sathi two years ago, which, unlike the Central scheme, is free of conditions.” Outlining her government’s development plans, she promised pucca houses, piped drinking water for all and underlined the TMC’s pledge of launching healthcare camps in every block of the state under the ‘Duare Chikitsa’ scheme. PTI SCH NSD
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