Mamata demands PM’s resignation over silence on Pak’s ‘threat’ to Kolkata

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent over Pakistan’s threat to attack Kolkata, questioning why the issue was not raised during his recent poll rallies in the state.

Addressing a poll rally in Nadia’s Bethuadahari, she said: “You (PM) target Bengal during election rallies; but when Pakistan talks of attacking Bengal, you do not utter a word. You should resign.” Questioning PM Modi’s silence on the issue during his recent rally in Cooch Behar, Banerjee said: “Why did he not raise the issue during his rally in Bengal? When Pakistan’s defence minister says they will attack Kolkata, why didn’t the prime minister say that ‘we will take strong action’?”

“Just like we do not accept any threat to the country, we will also not take the threat to Kolkata lying down,” she added. “Is this how little the lives of Bengalis mean to him and his Home Minister? Do we not count as a state of the Indian Union? Do the lives of our people not matter at all?” Banerjee asked further.

Her remarks come after Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif warned that Islamabad would respond with a strike on Kolkata in the event of any ‘future misadventure’ by India. “If India tries to stage any false flag operation this time, then God-willingly, we will take it to Kolkata,” Asif said while speaking to reporters in Sialkot.

Regarding Suvendu Adhikari’s challenge that he would win from Bhawanipore, Banerjee said: “I will file nomination on April 8. They have not shown any political courtesy while filing nominations. They have brought people from Kanthi, Potashpur, in exchange for Rs 500. There were only 16 people from Bhowanipore. You will get the answer this time.” Speaking about the massive deletion form her Constituency, she said: “No matter how many voters they delete under the veil of SIR in Bhowanipore, I will still win from this Constituency.”

For the Nakashipara election rally, Banerjee made a startling claim, saying that on the day of counting on May 4, it will be shown from the morning that they (BJP) were winning. She urged her partymen not to get scared and be there at the counting stations till the last moment. “Don’t leave the counting station till the counting is over. From the morning, it would be projected as if they were winning. Please have patience, and we will win finally,” Banerjee told her party leaders.

She also alleged that the BJP had entered into a “tacit understanding” with the Congress and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, claiming that many IAS and IPS officers from Bengal had been sent to the southern state as poll observers, hampering development work in the state.

She claimed that though five states are going to the polls simultaneously, the Election Commission transferred around 500 officers in West Bengal in comparison to a handful in other poll-bound states.

Banerjee said she would tour the country to forge Opposition unity against the saffron party after the Assembly elections.

Banerjee also expressed her apprehension that there may be an attempt to create a nuisance on voting days so that women voters cannot cast their votes. She alleged that the saffron camp may use the Central Forces to outrage the modesty of the women voters. Banerjee told women voters: “CRPF and BSF DG in Bihar had suggested that women’s bodies should be checked. You should cast your votes first; otherwise, there could be attempts to prevent you from voting.”

She asked: “Those who will come from Delhi will check the women. Is this not an insult to women?”

She also stated that CRPF personnel in 200 vehicles are being brought from Uttar Pradesh to attack people here. She urged the people not to get scared. “It is just a game of 25 days,” Banerjee said.

She also urged the people not to allow the CRPF to carry out any rigging, which was done in the Bihar elections. Meanwhile, a TMC delegation on Monday submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer saying that a huge number of form 6 applications were submitted where the voters from other states were seeking an inclusion of names in the electoral rolls of the state. The delegation which was led by TMC leaders Aroop Biswas, Dr Shashi Panja said that the poll body has not taken any action despite repeated pleas. They also pointed out that the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on March 30 submitted a letter where he had brought to light a matter of grave constitutional concern regarding the illegal and bulk submission of Form 6 applications.