BJP triggering violence by sending Central ministers to villages: CM

KOLKATA: Taking a swipe at the Centre for sending a letter and a team of the Home Ministry with regards to post-poll violence within 24 hours of her taking the oath as the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of instigating violence by sending Central ministers to villages as the saffron party "cannot digest the defeat" in the Assembly elections.

"I have taken oath as Chief Minister at 10.45 am on Wednesday and they have sent a letter using the word "stringent" in the evening. A team has also been sent today in the name of post-poll violence. It has not yet been 24 hours since the state government has taken charge. It seems that they have failed to digest their defeat with the people's mandate going against them," Banerjee said while addressing the media at Nabanna, adding that they did not send teams to Covid hospitals and to Uttar Pradesh even after incidents of atrocities took place in Hathras.

"But, they are sending Central ministers here. They are going to different villages and instigating people to get indulged in violent activities. We have identified black spots, which are the areas where BJP performed well in the election. Most incidents of violence are taking place in those areas," she added.

"I will urge BJP to accept the people's mandate and not to create any disturbance here," she said. BJP's national president JP Nadda came to Bengal on a two-day visit in connection with the post-poll violence.

Urging the Centre to refrain from sending teams over "baseless" issues, Banerjee said they were trying to make propaganda out of nothing. She also stated that anyone who comes from outside, even by special flights, have to provide Covid negative report by undergoing RT-PCR test within 72 hours of journey and there would be no discrimination with anyone.

A four-member team of the Home Ministry went to Nabanna on Thursday and held meetings with the top brass of the state government before setting out to visit different places. In this connection, Banerjee said: "Yes, they visited Nabanna. Our officers had received them. They had tea and left after some discussions."

As Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also tweeted in connection with the post-poll violence, Banerjee said that she did not want to speak much about him as posting messages on Twitter had turned his habit of seeking publicity.