Won't let anyone take away people's voting right till I am alive: Mamata
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she would not let anyone take away people's voting rights, alleging that the BJP was unleashing "linguistic terror" on Bengalis. Addressing a rally of the TMC's students' wing in Kolkata, Banerjee claimed that the BJP has deployed over 500 teams from across the country in West Bengal to conduct surveys aimed at deleting names of voters from the electoral rolls. "You must yourself check whether your names are still there or have been struck off from the voters' list... You must ensure you have Aadhar cards," she told the rally. "I will not let anyone take away people's voting rights till I am alive," she added.
Banerjee alleged that the Election Commission was intimidating state government officers. "The EC is threatening our officers. Its jurisdiction is only for the three months during elections, not throughout the year," she claimed. Banerjee alleged that the BJP was trying to make people forget the role played by Bengalis during the freedom movement. "If there is no Bengali language, then in which language are the national anthem and national song written? They want people to forget the historical role played by Bengalis in the freedom movement. We will not tolerate this linguistic terror," she said. "Their predecessors were agents of the British who gave undertakings to get out of jails," she claimed. Banerjee claimed that while her administration has undertaken several social welfare initiatives, the BJP government at the Centre indulged in corruption in the name of development. "We have brought the 'Lakshmir Bhandar' scheme for women, while the BJP has 'corruption bhandar' and nepotism. They are looting the nation, while we are empowering women," she alleged. She also hit out at the CPI(M)-led Left, accusing it of "joining hands" with the BJP to take on her. "The CPI(M) government in Kerala is claiming that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose fled the country in fear of the British. We condemn this," she said.
