'Shah engineering polls in Bengal'

Belda: On a day when parts of Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, West and East Midnapore went to polls, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused Union Home minister Amit Shah of 'engineering the election process in Bengal'.

Banerjee also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by using his programme in Bangladesh to influence a section of electorates in Bengal.

Banerjee held back-to-back four rallies at Narayangarh, Pingla, Kharagpur Sadar and Howrah Madhya to campaign for her party's candidates.

While addressing a rally at Belda in Narayangarh, Banerjee said: "Delhi's Amit Shah is operating the election here. I respect the Election Commission. So, we demand free, fair and peaceful polls. People should not face any restriction to cast their votes. I would like to tell Amit Shah that you do not run the Election Commission. It is an independent body. Your hands are stained in blood of the mass killings in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Now, you are threatening police personnel of Bengal and posting cops brought from other states as per your requirement."

Reiterating that "BJPs' outsiders would create trouble in the remaining phases of the election," Banerjee added: "He (Shah) is threatening me as well assuming that I will get frightened. I will urge him to be polite instead of being so rude. If you look at his eyes, you often get a feeling that he is approaching to devour everything."

While addressing a mammoth rally at Kharagpur Sadar, Banerjee said: "He (referring to Narendra Modi) has gone to (the neighbouring) Bangladesh when election is taking place here (in Bengal). His speech was meant to woo a section of voters in the state. This is a breach of the Model Code of Conduct and we will move the Election Commission in this regard."

Recollecting the episode when visa of Bangladeshi actor Firdous was cancelled "for campaigning in favour of TMC before 2019 Lok Sabha polls", she asked "why Modi's visa shouldn't be cancelled for campaigning in favour of Donald Trump?"

While addressing the gathering at the "Railway town" Kharagpur, Banerjee said: "The quarters of Railways employees are in shambles. They are selling out the Railways. It would lead to massive unemployment and what would Railways employees do if they lose their jobs?" She also took a dig at the Centre claiming that the Centre's Ujjwala Yojana was "nothing but a scam" and now the cost of a cylinder had touched nearly Rs 900.