BJP against Mamata Banerjee as she is a strident critic of economic disaster caused under the Narendra Modi regime: Trinamool
Kolkata: Claiming Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had been the only vocal critic of Centre's 'misdeeds', hence the BJP was targeting her, Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Friday demanded an audit of the PM Cares Fund by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Addressing a press conference at the Trinamool Bhavan, on Friday, she alleged that the saffron party was indulging in dirty political games to remove Mamata Banerjee as the TMC supremo had criticised the Centre over its anti-people laws and its disastrous policies which hit the economic condition of the country.
"The BJP is a party known for its falsehood. They are against Mamata Banerjee as she has been the most strident critic of the economic disaster caused under the Narendra Modi regime," she said.
"The country wants to know the names of the donors and the amount that has been deposited in PM Cares Fund. It is public money and should be audited by the CAG. We fail to understand why the Centre is not making this account transparent?" she asked. The MP and veteran TMC leader highlighted the 'misdeeds' of the Centre. "The misdeeds are a plenty. On the top, is the Farm Bill. This is going to hit the interest of the farmers and will strengthen the monopoly of businessmen. The Centre has reduced the rate of bank interests. This has affected senior citizens across the country. The Centre has also failed to control the price of essential commodities. In such a scenario, the elderly people do not know what to do," she said. The MP claimed that the Centre has caused economic disaster in the country. "The country is on sale. Important PSUs are being sold and the others will be sold soon. Tea Boards office has been shifted from Kolkata and the next target is Coal India," she said.
Taking a dig at the saffron party, the MP insisted that the BJP had understood it would not be easy to overpower Mamata Banerjee as people were by her side. "BJP has destroyed the political and social fabric of the country and its federal structure. It plays the communal card to satisfy its own narrow interest," she alleged.
The MP also highlighted the ignorance of BJP leaders about Bengal's culture. She claimed that ahead of Amit Shah's visit to Birbhum district, posters—featuring the Union Home minister's photograph placed above Rabindranath Tagore's picture—were put up in Santiniketan. She stated that such posters were an insult to the Nobel laureate.
"The BJP leaders who are coming to Bengal cannot speak Bengali. They don't know who is Birsa Munda and thus had garlanded the statues of a hunter. They had said Rabindranath was born in Bolpur. This is sheer ignorance. They had vandalised the bust of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar," she said.
Without naming those who have left Trinamool, she said: "It is funny that the party has to hire leaders from Trinamool for survival. They don't have leaders in Bengal and leaders from other states are coming regularly to talk on the issues that are related to our state."
Speaking about the turncoats, she pointed out that "those who have proposed to join BJP will face trouble as the people of Bengal cannot stand traitors."
She claimed that such turncoats were leaving Trinamool Congress as they had either done no work or lost people's support. But, such exits of corrupt leaders, who had allegedly gathered wealth, would only strengthen the TMC, she reiterated.
She maintained that the Centre was taking confusing decisions. "On one hand, it said those police officer who had been asked to join on deputation did not work. On the other hand, they have been posted in agencies that guard the
borders. I really do not know what kind of madness is this?" she asked.
Ghosh Dastidar said BJP's tricks to win Bengal would not work as people would support Mamata Banerjee to retain power for the third consecutive time.
