Will Address Border Dispute With Assam If TMC Wins, Says Mamata

KOLKATA: Urging people of Meghalaya not to trust the BJP, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee, during her visit to the northeastern state on Tuesday, said if her party comes to power there, she would address Meghalaya's border disputes with Assam. She also urged the people of Meghalaya to vote for her party to ensure overall development of the state. Banerjee, along with party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Manas Bhuniya, in-charge of Meghalaya, were on a two-day visit to the northeastern state, where the Assembly election will be held in February 2023. She also maintained that the BJP had neglected the northeastern states.

She made it clear that Trinamool Congress will never ever try to control the state. "Meghalaya will be ruled by the people of Meghalaya and not from Guwahati or Delhi. We will play the role of advisors. Abhishek and I will come again," she maintained.

Banerjee started her election campaign from the workers' convention on Tuesday. Addressing party workers at the USoso Tham Auditorium, State Central Library in Shillong, she said: "BJP leaders will come before the election and make false promises. They will even give you money. Take the money and do not vote for them. Remember, it is your money."

Rubbishing rumours that Trinamool Congress was a Bengali party, she said: "The poets of National Anthem and national Song, namely Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay were Bengalis. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a Bengali and his slogan Jai Hind had become a national slogan."

Taking a dig at BJP, she also added: "I do not understand why they divide people among castes and religions. Ask the BJP leaders why they haven't carried out any development in the state."

She further said the BJP was jealous of Trinamool Congress as the former had failed to win the Assembly election in Bengal in 2021. Coming down heavily on the saffron party for withdrawing the Christmas holiday, she said: "Come to Kolkata and see how roads have been decorated with lights. We respect all religions."

Banerjee introduced Saket Gokhale to the audience and said: "He was arrested twice by the Gujarat police for his tweet criticising the BJP government after the bridge at Morbi collapsed. A leader should be tolerant and that is the biggest quality."

Banerjee explained why TMC could not do well in the election in Goa and said: "In Goa, there are no leaders. But here, Mukul Sangma, who was the Chief Minister, is our leader. There are other leaders too in the state."

She talked about the various pro-people projects like Swasthya Sathi and Kanyashree, which had been taken up in Bengal. Banerjee said: "The Lok Sabha election was held within two months after Trinamool Congress was set up and people were not even aware of the symbol. Despite that, we got seven MPs and now we have 36 MPs, who have raised the problems of Meghalaya." She also promised the people of Meghalaya that she would introduce various women-centric schemes if voted to power in the Assembly polls. "Women in Meghalaya have suffered enough. The state government neglects them but we will aim to empower them," Banerjee said. "We promise to empower women, uplift the youth, and uphold the vibrant culture. We promise to bring a credible change for the people of Meghalaya," she stated.

She attacked the BJP and its ally NPP in Meghalaya for 'failing to provide' jobs to the next of kin of the victims of Mukroh violence.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee met the families of the victims of the tragic Mukroh firing. She distributed Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the clashes in Mukhroh village along the Assam-Meghalaya border last month. Banerjee also kick started 'Mission Meghalaya' on Tuesday.