NewDelhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 29, 2022) attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for branding everybody as “thieves” and said that had she not been in politics, she would have “torn out their tongues”.
Addressing a rally of her party’s student wing, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said that the central agencies and “ill-gotten money of the BJP” are being used to dislodge elected state governments run by parties that are opposed to the saffron camp. Mamata also vowed to defeat the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The BJP is branding everybody as thieves. They are campaigning in a way as if all of us in the TMC are thieves and only the BJP and its leaders are holy. Had I not been in politics, I would have torn out their tongues,” she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
BJP using central agencies, black money to topple elected state governments
The Bengal CM also said that a “malicious campaign” has been unleashed against senior TMC leaders, including her, Firhad Hakim and Abhishek Banerjee.
Apprehending that Hakim might be arrested as he was recently summoned by the central agencies, Banerjee said, “If he is arrested, you can rest assured it will be a fake case, just to harass him.”
“They (BJP) are talking about the money with TMC leaders. From where is the BJP getting thousand of crores to dislodge elected state governments in line of the Maharashtra model. The BJP is parking money abroad through hawala. The BJP has to be defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” she said.
BJP talks about ‘Beti Bachao’ but they released Bilkis Bano convicts
Mamata Banerjee also hit out at BJP over the release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case and said that she will hold a 48-hour long dharna in Kolkata to press for action against the accused.
“The BJP talks about ‘Beti Bachao’ and ‘Beti Padhao’ and its government released those involved in Bilkis Bano case. Is this justice? We will organise 48-hour long dharna in Kolkata to press for action against the accused,” she said.
Bilkis Bano was five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots which broke out after the Godhra train burning in 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven killed.
The 11 men convicted in the case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.
Bureau Report
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