‘Nirmam Sarkar’ vs ‘Snake’: TMC-BJP war of words intensifies as West Bengal heads to Assembly polls
New Delhi: War of words between two sides Trinamool Congress and bjp West Bengal Chief Minister on Friday stepped up Mamata Banerjee PM compares saffron party to snakes a day later Narendra Modi Calling the TMC government “nirmam” (cruel).“Even snakes can be trusted, but not the BJP. I am the candidate of TMC. If you want to keep the country safe, vote for TMC,” Banerjee said at an election rally in Tanturia in North 24 Parganas district.
“Train carrying 50,000 people to Assam”
The chief minister claimed that the BJP is contesting the Assam elections from outside as it is not confident of winning on the votes of residents of the northeastern state.“A train carrying 50,000 people was brought from Uttar Pradesh to Assam,” she claimed. The 126-member Assam Assembly held elections in a phased manner on Thursday.Banerjee alleged that the BJP was trying to use the same strategy in West Bengal to bring in people from outside and that was why officials were transferred. Soon after the results were announced, the Election Commission mobilized a large number of police and administrative officials to West Bengal.“People, money and drugs are brought in, but our workers will fight and prevail,” she said.
“Central agency unilateral”
Banerjee further accused the central institutions of being “one-sided”, claiming that under the BJP government at the Centre, no institution in the country was neutral as “the saffron party has bought them all”.She referred to the Special Intensified Revision (SIR) process, under which she claimed the names of nine million people had been removed from the state’s electoral rolls.The TMC chief said that according to newspaper reports, out of the 9 million names that were removed, 6 million were Hindus and 3 million were Muslims.She said the BJP should never be trusted and claimed that out of the 1.9 million people delisted during the NC exercise in Assam, 1.3 million were Hindus and 600,000 were Muslims.
“I am a candidate for all 294 seats”
Asking voters to consider her as the TMC candidate in all 294 seats in the state, Banerjee said: “If you want to form a Trinamool Congress government under my leadership, then I am the candidate in all seats.”She claimed that the names of many scheduled caste persons had been removed from the rolls while insisting that the names of voters in her constituency had also been removed.“I’m not worried, I have confidence in people; we’re going to get all the remaining votes on the rolls,” she said.
“Fishing is not allowed in Bihar”
Banerjee claimed that the BJP government will impose restrictions on non-vegetarian food options for the people of West Bengal.“People here eat according to their choice, but that is not the case in the BJP-ruled states,” she said. She claimed that fish consumption is not allowed in Bihar and that is why fish is exported to other states.
PM Modi launches attack on migrant workers
Alleging that migrant workers from West Bengal were subjected to atrocities in the BJP-ruled state, Banerjee said: “You (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) cannot protect the people of West Bengal in other states but can only promise ‘Sonar Bangla’ in rallies.”“You should dream of ‘Sonar Bangla’ only after the BJP-ruled state ensures the security of the people of West Bengal,” she said.
PM Modi’s ‘Nirman Sarkar’ attack
Banerjee’s sharp remarks came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the ruling TMC at a rally in Purba’s Medinipur district.“While the entire country is progressing, TMC’s ‘Nirman Sarkar’ is steadily hampering Bengal. To usher in a Viksit Bengal, TMC’s ‘Nirman Sarkar’ must be eliminated,” Modi said.“I am grateful that people came out in such large numbers despite the bad weather. This shows that a storm is brewing. The people of Bengal are ready for regime change and this shows that TMC’s exit from the state is inevitable,” he added.West Bengal will go to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29, with counting scheduled for May 4. In the first phase, 152 parliamentary constituencies will go to polls, followed by the remaining 142 seats in the second and final phase.Banerjee and the TMC have been in power since 2011 and are targeting a fourth consecutive term. The Bharatiya Janata Party won a record 77 seats in the 2021 parliamentary elections, becoming the main opposition party.
