Modi's words show he is scared of Mamata Banerjee: Partha

Kolkata: Coming down heavily on Prime Minister Nadrendra Modi for criticising Mamata Banerjee for using terms like "civil war" over the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee said Modi's statement clearly indicates that he is scared of her.

Modi, while giving an interview to ANI on Saturday, had criticised Banerjee saying that those who have lost faith in national institutions, use the terms like "civil war", "bloodbath" and "desh ke tukre tukre." He further alleged that Banerjee has failed to feel the pulse of the people and is now alienated from them.

Chatterjee said: "the statement of Modi clearly indicates that he is scared of Mamata Banerjee. The problem with these people (BJP) is that they do not know the country's history and now they have become arrogant."

Trinamool Congress supporters took out rallies in Kolkata on Sunday to condemn the publication of faulty NRC, where the names of 40 lakh people have been omitted. A massive rally was taken out by INTTUC.

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the state Power minister who led the rally, said BJP is pushing the country towards a civil war. "There is the problem of infiltration in many states but Amit Shah, who visited Kolkata on Saturday, did not give any solution," he said.

Chattopadhyay said BJP is now talking about winning in 22 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal. "First they should win 22 Assembly seats and then should think of winning 22 Lok Sabha seats where each seat comprises seven Assembly seats," he said.

Subrata Mukherjee, state minister for Panchayat and Rural development department, said: "BJP is trying to divide the country on the basis of caste and religion. The names of many people who had come thirty years ago have been dropped. Through NRC, the Centre is trying to create an environment of fear psychosis among the people."

Firhad hakim, state Urban Development minister, said BJP is fueling communal tension by dividing people on the basis of religion. "Such communal cards will not have any impact in Bengal, where people from different communities live peacefully and happily."

Bratya Basu, state minister of Information Technology, said BJP should start working on the NRC in Gujarat and "it will be seen that Amit Shah is an infiltrator," he said, adding: "through NRC, BJP is trying to scare people."