'BJP worse than Maoists, more dangerous than venomous snakes'

Purulia: Accusing the BJP of creating violence after giving false pre-poll assurances, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the saffron brigade is more dangerous than the Maoists.

"They (BJP) are worse than the Maoists and more dangerous than venomous snakes. They will ruin your life as they can do nothing apart from creating violence and riots. Where were they when there used to be violence every day in Purulia?" Banerjee thundered while addressing a mammoth rally at Hutmora Ground. The TMC supremo's comparison of the BJP with the Maoists in Jangalmahal is crucial as it was the hotbed of Left Wing extremism before 2011 and it was Banerjee's government that ensured an overall development after restoring peace in the area.

She continued her attack against BJP saying that the saffron party made false promises to people ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and fled after the elections. "After the Lok Sabha polls, do you see your MP here?" Banerjee asked the gathering. In reply, the crowd cried an emphatic "no". Incidentally, BJP had managed to win all the seats in Jangalmahal in 2019.

Banerjee once again took a dig at the "outsiders" saying that they cannot even pronounce the name of the state properly and say "Bongal" instead of "Bangla". They insult the tribals by garlanding a statue of a hunter mistaking it to be that of Birsa Munda. "But they always dream of capturing Bengal just to turn it into a riot-torn state," she said, urging people to throw them out without giving any significance if they are approached with fake assurances ahead of the Assembly polls. They insult Dalits by carrying food from five-star hotels to their houses. One such person even failed to clear the loan he took to make arrangements for lunch of the BJP leaders from Delhi. "I would urge my party workers to support the person by helping him to clear the loan," she stated.

In the same breath, Banerjee attacked CPI(M) and Congress for allowing BJP to gain ground in Bengal. TMC MP from Birbhum Satabdi Roy and state Labour minister Malay Ghatak were also present at the rally.

Vehemently criticising the BJP for spreading fake videos through different WhatsApp groups, Banerjee accused Union Home minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders forcing news channels not to telecast correct findings of pre-poll surveys.

Banerjee even accused the saffron brigade of sending people to take photographs of the vacant stage of Tuesday's rally at around 11 am though the programme was scheduled to start from 1 pm, when the entire ground was packed with at least 1 lakh people.

Highlighting the development work carried out for Jangalmahal, including Purulia, Banerjee on Tuesday gave a call to build "Natun Bangla" (a new Bengal).

Valuing the sentiments of people from the community, the Chief Minister said the Chief Secretary has already written to the Centre to give recognition to Sarna religion.