Mamata compares Modi to 'fascist Hitler'
Cooch Behar: Comparing Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Germany's fascist leader Hitler, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee challenged him to take part in a meeting with her to inform people about the development projects that have been taken up in the past five years by the Central and state governments.
Banerjee was addressing a mammoth rally at Rash Mela Grounds on Monday afternoon. "I challenge Modi to hold a meeting where he should inform the country about the development projects that have been taken up in the past five years. If I have misinformed people about the development projects, I will tender apology and at the same time, he will have to tender apology if he has done the same," she said.
"TMC is not afraid of Modi, Bengal is not afraid of Modi. My whole life I have fought against injustice. I have been beaten black and blue by the CPI(M) but I was never afraid. Even guns cannot scare me, let alone Modi's threats," an irate Banerjee said.
Labelling Modi and BJP president Amit Shah as "Duryodhana and Dushashan" (antagonists of the epic Mahabharata), Banerjee alleged that the duo was suffering from "Binash Kaley Biporit Buddhi" (as the time is coming near they are losing their senses) syndrome.
She said: "In the past years, Modi has spoken only lies and travelled extensively to foreign countries. No development has been carried out by the Centre. Note ban has ruined thousands of people. Twelve thousand farmers have committed suicide. The economy of the country has been shattered. To divert the attention of the people, he is speaking lies and only lies."
"The country wants to know what he has done in the past five years. Instead of giving replies to the queries of the people, he is asking me questions," she added.
"Modi wants to know what I had done as the Union Railway minister. I had introduced new trains throughout the country. A new train was introduced connecting Jalpaiguri with Kamakhya. Chandrabandha has been made into a model railway station. Local train services have improved throughout Bengal," the Trinamool supremo said.
Banerjee said those who have raised questions about the performance of the Centre have been tortured and Modi has set Central agencies against them. "He is using ED, CBI and DRI to scare people who oppose him. He has lowered the prestige of these institutions," she added.
Calling Modi an "expiry Prime Minister", Banerjee reiterated that the people in the country are ready to "oust this humbug fake chowkidar, who talks big and never keeps his promises."
She maintained that in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha and Bengal BJP will experience landslide defeat, while in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, their seats will come down.
Banerjee said: "Modi is arrogant and is using the kind of language that does not go with his position. We have never such an arrogant Prime Minister in India."
The Trinamool supremo then reminded all present in the grounds of how people were suffering in Assam owing to NRC. "Names of more than four lakh people have been struck off the list. Families are perishing. Now he wants to implement NRC and Citizenship Amendment Bill in Bengal. We will never allow a rerun of Assam here. They will never succeed in their sinister designs," she stated.
She said in 2014 before the Lok Sabha poll, BJP had raised the Saradha issue and then subsequently in all the elections in 2016, the same issue was raised. "They are raising it again now. The Saradha chit fund company was started in CPI(M)'s regime. Why were none of its leaders arrested?" she questioned, adding that "Modi himself had shared the dais with a leader whose name had been tainted in the same scam."
Banerjee said that in the past seven years, extensive development has been carried out all over the state. Projects like Kanyashree, Sabuj Sathi and Yubashree have benefitted crores of people. Khadyasathi itself has benefitted 8.5 crore people.
Before the Cooch Behar rally, Banerjee had addressed a campaign rally at Nagra-kata in Jalpaiguri. She urged
people to vote for the Trinamool candidate to set up a stable and secular government in Delhi.
From Cooch Behar, she travelled to Siliguri via helicopter. On arrival, Banerjee walked from Salugarah to the hotel where she will be staying. On the way she spoke to the bystanders waiting to catch a glimpse of her. She asked them personally to attend the TMC rally at Baghajatin Park, Siliguri on April 13.
