Stopping short of calling the BJP a fascist force, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that there is no difference between the saffron outfit and outgoing US President Donald Trump adding Bengal will witness a second famine if they come to power in the State.
“There is no difference between BJP and Trump as they represent two sides of the same coin,” Banerjee said referring to how one party like the other refuses to concede defeat even after getting trounced in the elections. “Trump has lost the elections but wants to continue in power refusing to concede defeat. The BJP is no different from him and they too cling on to power after defeat.”
Hitting out at the saffron Government for forcing through the anti-farmer laws against which the entire farming community of the country had united in the outskirts of Delhi Banerjee said if the BJP is allowed to come to power in Bengal the State will be hit by a second Great Famine.
Bengal had lost lakhs of people in the Great Famine of ‘76. “The Great Famine will hit Bengal again if the BJP comes to power in the State” asking the farmers and the poor to reject the party in the coming Assembly elections.
The Chief Minister was speaking in an electoral rally at Habibpur in Nadia.
Earlier she demanded the withdrawal of the “oppressive farm laws” while paying tribute to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 55th death anniversary.
Invoking Shashtri’s slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’’ (hail the youth hail the farmers), Banerjee said that the interests of the farmers who are the heroes of the nation should be preserved at any lost.
“Tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri, former prime minister, on his death anniversary. He gave us the inspirational slogan ‘’Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’’. We are proud of our farmer brothers and sisters. Farmers are the heroes of our nation. The Centre MUST repeal the anti-farmer Acts NOW!” she wrote on the Twitter.
In the rally she said her party Trinamool Congress will always stand by the agitating farmers saying “the farmers of Punjab and Haryana are being oppressed and tortured by the BJP Government … in the interest of the corporate houses.”
Attacking the BJP leaders for giving false promises to the Namo Shudras (Matuas and SCs who have come from Bangladesh) of giving them citizenship Banerjee said “everyone who have been living in Bengal since 1972 are the citizens of this country. They do not need any other recognition … but some swindlers are promising them false citizenship which is not required,” adding her government will provide about 1.5 lakh ‘pattas’ to the people which in turn will strand as a record to prove citizenship.
“We will not allow anyone to implement to force NRC or NPR in Bengal in the name of giving citizenship to people,” Banerjee said adding “those who will try to implement NRC or NPR will be shoed away from the area by the local people.”
Attacking the “turncoats” including senior TMC leaders and former Ministers who have left the ruling party to join the BJP Banerjee said that the “BJP today stands for Bharatiya Junk Party which accommodates all the junks from the TMC…” adding “the BJP has come out with a formula according to which all the Kalo (black) becomes ‘Bhalo’ (good) after joining the BJP.”
Pooh-pooing the BJP for holding out a false dream of “Sonar Bangla” or Golden Bengal, Banerjee said “they are feeding you a false dream of Sonar Bangla. But there is no need of that as we already have made a Sonar Bangla …now we are proceeding to accomplish the dream of Biswa Bangla (Global Bengal).
Attacking the BJP national leaders for “doing the ‘natak’ (drama) by feasting at the houses of farmers “ Banerjee said “such public exhibitions do not fetch you faith of the people … for that you have to walk on the dust.”
Incidentally BJP national president JP Nadda’s wrong presentation of some information related to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu have once again become an issue with the TMC which on Monday said that “outsiders who do not have any knowledge about Bengal and its culture are coming to seek the vote from local people.”
Referring to how Nadda said that he had visited the Radha Madhav temple at Katwa town where the great saint had taken his initiation (Diksha) Bengal Minister Bratya Basu said the temple was in fact constructed long after Mahaprabhu’s demise.
The TMC had earlier faulted Nadda for telling the public that Rabindranath Tagore was born at Shantiniketan though the Poet Laureate was born at Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata and built Shantiniketan much later.
