BJP playing CAA card to woo voters before Guj polls: CM
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee said she would give her life but will never allow the BJP to "implement CAA and NRC in Bengal". She claimed that BJP was playing the CAA card with an "eye on the Gujarat polls".
Addressing a mammoth rally at Krishnanagar on Wednesday afternoon, Banerjee said: "I am overjoyed to receive the immense love and blessings of people and their overwhelming support."
She added: "People are our strength. Dividing people on the basis of caste, creed, and religion is not Bengal's value. And I promise you, I shall protect Bengal with all my strength from BJP's divisive politics, and I assure you that each and every person of Bengal — from Matua to Rajbangshi — you are a citizen of India, and shall always remain so."
Alleging that the CAA is BJP's ploy to woo voters ahead of elections, Banerjee said: "It is BJP's trick to talk about CAA and NRC before any election. The Assembly election is due in Gujarat and now they are talking about CAA. I will die but not allow them to implement CAA and NRC in Bengal."
Calling the proposal to implement the CAA a "big hoax", the TMC supremo added: "The Matuas have land, ration cards, EPIC card, Aadhaar card, Swasthya Sathi card, their children go to school, then how can you give citizenship to them. They are already Indian nationals and now you are again trying to give them citizenship. If the CAA is to be implemented on Indian citizens then neither Narendra Modi nor myself can become Prime Minister or Chief Minister as the people who had voted for us were not Indian citizens," she said.
Claiming that the BJP was indulging in dirty politics, Banerjee said: "The BJP is playing dirty politics with the Matuas. So, before any election, they speak rubbish to woo voters. Once the election is over, things die down." She also stated that the BJP will not come to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. "I guarantee you that in 2024, BJP will not be coming back to power. They will lose votes in Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and in the North-East," she remarked.
Banerjee said unable to fight the Trinamool Congress politically, BJP was letting loose the ED and the CBI to scare party leaders and workers.
"You cannot scare me as I am made of a different element," she maintained.
She alleged that the BJP MP from Ranaghat had not done anything for the development of the area. "We have introduced Lakshmir Bhandar, Swasthya Sathi, Student Credit Card, named a college after Guruchand Harichand Thakur, given 700 acres of land to ISKCON at Mayapur to name a few pro-people initiatives. But despite all the development projects, people did not vote for us in the Lok Sabha election and Assembly election as they got swayed by the lies and false promises of the BJP. Now, people have realised the reality and how they had been duped by the saffron party."
Slamming the Centre, Banerjee said: "The note ban declared by the Prime Minister in 2016 was a major hoax. As promised by PM Modi, neither the circulation of black money has not stopped nor the counterfeit Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes. The country's economy is in absolute doldrums with unemployment going up."
She also alleged that the Centre was not clearing the state's dues. "The Centre has stopped giving money to the State for the 100 Days' Work Scheme. They are taking money from our state and not returning our share. The livelihood of people of Bengal has been affected because of this," she said.
"I will be travelling to Jangalmahal on November 15 to celebrate Birsa Munda's birth anniversary. We have also given a State holiday on that day," Banerjee added.
Stating that the number of dengue cases was going down, Banerjee said with winter setting in, the cases would further decline. "I will request everyone to keep their surroundings clean and make sure that there's no place where water can get accumulated. Accumulated water causes the breeding of mosquitoes, which needs to be checked," she said.
Attending the Rash festival of the Gossain family in Shantipur, Banerjee said: "I am thankful to the family for inviting me to attend the festival. It is wonderful and deities of different religions are worshipped here. This is Bengal's culture and heritage."
She asked the District Magistrate to include the Rash festival in the tourism network. She gave the hand-woven sari presented to her to be displayed at the Biswa Bangla Store at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport along with the name of the weaver.
