Kolkata: Threatening that if the pages of history book are turned, the saffron brigade will be in “danger”, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday, lashed out at the BJP for allegedly playing the ‘royal card’ by fielding a Krishnanagar royal family member Amrita Roy against her party candidate Mahua Moitra.
The BJP has been highlighting Roy’s association with the royal family in their campaigns and thus referring to her as “Rajmata”. Alluding to Maharaja Krishnachandra Roy, Banerjee, who was campaigning for Mahua Moitra at Dhubulia in Nadia, said: “During the fight with the British, a person stood as the friend of Lord Clive. He had tried to end Bengal’s freedom struggle movement. The people of Bengal support Siraj-Ud-Daula but not Mir Jafar. I am not discussing whether Siraj was good or bad. But, they (BJP) are using the name of that friend of Lord Clive in the campaigns. Is Modi Babu (PM Narendra Modi) forgetting history?”
Without naming Roy, she asked: “Who is Rajmata? Who is the King? We are all kings in this king’s kingdom (amra sabai raja amader ei rajar rajatye). Now everybody is a subject and no one is the king. If somebody claims to be a king, he better stay in
the palace.
Don’t spread falsehood among the people. If you do, I will start going through the history books and then you will find no place to hide. People will reject you.”
Banerjee criticised PM Modi for his recent telephonic conversation with Roy where he claimed he was exploring legal options of distributing Rs 3,000 crore that was confiscated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in cash for jobs scam in Bengal among the poor people.
“He deliberately made the telephonic conversation viral. Then where is the secrecy of a phone call? You are breaching secrecy. He should know the person he is calling also derives benefits of state government schemes such as Swasthya Sathi and Lakshmir Bhandar,”
Banerjee said.
Raising the hand of Mahua Moitra, Mamata asked voters to ensure her return to the Parliament. “She was expelled because she raised her voice against them. You must elect her to the Lok Sabha because she will give them a befitting reply and unmask them,”
she added.
TMC already lodged a written complaint with the Election Commission of India against the Prime Minister alleging that he attempted to sway voters by promising monetary benefits during the telephonic conversation with Roy.