Oust BJP in 2019: Mamata
Kolkata: A sea of humanity defied torrential rain and inclement weather on Saturday to attend the July 21 Martyrs' Day rally, where Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee spelt out the party's strategy in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Lakhs of people were witness to a historic announcement which would mark a definite "movement" of a sort from this day onwards for the Trinamool Congress workers and its leaders with their task cut out for the forthcoming 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
A confident Mamata Banerjee, more passionate than ever, with an unflinching pledge to free India from the clutches of the BJP, announced: "We will win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is our pledge. We will oust the BJP to save the country. We will organise a big rally here in January and invite all the (Opposition) leaders."
The Trinamool Congress will organise a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground on January 19, 2019, which will be attended by all the Federal Front leaders to usher in the BJP's collapse. Speaking on the 25th anniversary of the Martyrs' Day programme, the Chief Minister said: "The gathering at the Brigade will be more than today's rally and I will request all the Federal Front leaders to address the meeting. We do not care for the chair but we are more concerned for the people of this land. We will show the way to Parliament." She also instructed the party leaders to start preparations for the grand rally from November itself, immediately after the Durga Puja.
She also charted out the party's programmes for the next few months. On July 27, Nanoor Divas will be celebrated and Firhad Hakim along with Anubrata Mondol will address the gathering. On July 28, party's youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee along with Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Kalyan Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari will address a rally at the Midnapore College ground, the venue from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the rally on July 16. From August 1 to 15, meetings will be held all over the state to spread the message of communal harmony. On August 9, Mamata Banerjee will be present at a meeting in Jhargram where the theme will be "BJP, quit the country". The meeting will be held to remember the Quit India movement which was organised against the British Rule in 1942. In September, the party will celebrate Teachers' Day in which teachers from various schools, colleges and universities will be felicitated in every area. A convention will be held on September 17 under the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee.
Coming down heavily on the BJP, Banerjee predicted that the saffron party will not be able to get more than 100-150 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as the situation will be completely different. She said the BJP had secured 325 votes while the Opposition got 126 votes at the no-confidence motion held on Friday because "AIADMK had voted for the BJP but the MPs would not have voted for the party had Jayalalithaji been alive. In 2019, Stalin will get the seats.
In Uttar Pradesh, if Mayawatiji and Mulayamji join hands, then the BJP's seats will come down to 30.
In Madhya Pradesh, now the BJP has 28 seats which will come down to one fourth. In Rajasthan, the party has 25 seats which will come down to 5. In Bihar, Laluji will get more seats. In Gujarat, the BJP will not get any seat. In Bengal, the TMC will get all the 42 Lok Sabha seats." She further added: "The number of votes the BJP got on Friday was on the floor of the House but outside, the scenario is totally different and take it from me that the BJP will not win in 2019 as people will not vote for the party."
Calling the BJP a "sword brandishing or gun-toting Hindu," she said the BJP has actually insulted Hinduism. "We do not accept the BJP's Hindutva. The party has insulted Hinduism. We follow the Hinduism that has been professed by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. We believe in tolerance and universal acceptance," she maintained.
Accusing the BJP of spreading hate politics, she said throughout the country, the party is trying to divide society. Referring to the statement made by the Prime Minister and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament on Friday that the state governments should take stern action to stop lynching, she said: "The party should first try to control the language of the state president. He talks about burning down police stations and assault the TMC supporters, thus polluting the social environment." She added: "The BJP is involved in lynching throughout the country and the leaders have blood on their hands."
Banerjee said Congress leaders in Bengal should decide whether they will go with the TMC or not. "In Delhi, we are supporting them but here the Congress, CPI(M) and the BJP have joined hands against us. This cannot be tolerated."
Referring to the collapse of the pandal at Modi's rally in Midnapore, she said: "The party that cannot prevent the collapse of a pandal, how do you expect them to run the country properly? But it is not about the pandal. They are trying to divide the country and this trend is dangerous."
The Chief Minister said canards are being spread against the TMC over the Panchayat elections. "In Uttar Pradesh, 71 percent seats are won uncontested while in Sikkim 85 percent seats are won unopposed but no one says anything about that. In Panchayat elections, local issues and candidates are important and in Jhargram, even the TMC could not file candidates in several seats but I did not complain about it. I pity those who fail to understand this small equation."
