BJP distorting history to divide: CM
Cooch Behar/Darjeeling: "Bengal will never bow her head. Those who are jealous of this state need to learn from Bengal. We will not allow Bengal to become an Assam. Do not disturb the people with your divisive politics. We stand for inclusiveness." The message was strong and clear from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who addressed a public programme in Cooch Behar on Tuesday.
Training guns at the BJP, Banerjee asked the people not to fall prey to their false assurances. "Which political party runs the government in Assam, Gujarat? The same political party has struck off names of 40 lakh genuine voters from the National Register of Citizens (NRC). There had been reports of suicides by people who found their names missing from the draft. I wonder what their counterpart (BJP Bengal unit) here will have to say about this," retorted Banerjee.
The Chief Minister assured that there will be no rerun of Assam in Bengal. "Bengalis are being driven out from Assam while Biharis are being driven out from Gujarat. However, Bengal welcomes all with open arms. We do not differentiate between caste, creed, colour, language or religion. Bengal will stand by anyone fighting for their rights," she stated.
The country's history and culture do not promote "sectarianism or bigotry", she said and maintained: "Those trying to distort our secular history should know that the people of Bengal will neither encourage nor allow divisive politics."
Banerjee further added: "Gandhiji, Nazrul Islam, Swami Vivekananda, Netaji did not adhere to divisions. Attempts are being made to change history. Attempts are being made to make people forget about Gandhi and Ambedkar. We cannot allow this."
Speaking on unity, Banerjee stated: "We might have linguistic barriers along with other differences including a variety of traditions and customs but we have the same heart; the same blood runs through our veins. We have to live as one and work as one."
The Chief Minister further maintained: "The Left Front left us a loan of Rs 50,000 crore which we are still paying. The BJP led Union government did not write it off. We could have undertaken so many development projects with this amount."
Banerjee added: "In Bengal, we have allocated nearly Rs 6,000 crore for various development schemes... Our schemes have been universally acclaimed. You (BJP) should learn from us."
She also stated that she lives up to her commitments. "We do not believe in laying foundation stones (Shilanyas) and forgetting about the projects like the earlier government. They were famous for that. You cannot do what we do. It is my challenge," she added.
