BJP trying to negatively influence Bengal's rich culture: Mamata

Agarpara: Rebutting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tall claims that BJP alone will get 300 seats in the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said it is certain that the saffron party is not coming to power in Delhi. She also added that the saffron party was trying to destroy Bengal's rich cultural heritage.

While addressing a mammoth rally at Agarpara in North 24-Parganas on Wednesday afternoon, she said: "From where will they get so many seats? In Uttar Pradesh, BJP will not get more than 13 to 17 seats, while in Maharashtra and Rajasthan the number of seats will be equally less. In Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha they will not get seats and in Bengal, they will get a big zero. So, from where will the seats come Modi babu."

It may be recalled that while addressing a rally at Taki, the Prime Minister had said: "BJP alone will get 300 seats and the NDA partners will increase their seats."

Banerjee said in a few days, the general elections will come to an end, but Modi has not uttered a single word on note ban, the suicide of farmers or why he has failed to give jobs to the people.

"In 2014, he had said he would bring back black money deposited in banks outside India and deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of everyone. It is a big hoax. He had announced that two crore people will get jobs which amount to 10 crore people in five years. Not only has that not happened, but around 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past five years. He has not said a word on his failure and has come in Bengal to incite one religion against the other," she said.

The Trinamool supremo also alleged that BJP is trying to negatively impact Bengal's great tradition and culture. "BJP is trying to force us to forget Rabindranath. This is their game plan," she said, adding that CPI(M) had tried this many years ago. "They imported Marx and Lenin and dropped 'Sahaj Path' of Tagore from the syllabus," Banerjee added.

She had earlier garlanded a portrait of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar kept on the dais.

Coming down heavily on Amit Shah, she said: "In Delhi, Shah had alleged that Trinamool supporters had planned to malign him. Who is he? Why would Trinamool try to malign him? They have destroyed the statue of Vidyasagar and are so shameless that they are now putting the blame on us."

Alleging that BJP supporters had vandalised the half-bust of Vidyasagar at Vidyasagar College on Tuesday, Banerjee said: "They have brought goons from Rajasthan, Jharkhand and different districts in Bengal. They have been put up in different hotels and lodges in and around the city."

Urging people to vote for party candidate Saugata Roy, she said: "Saugata da is a veteran Parliamentarian. He raises all important issues on the floor of the House."