Bandh cannot be the first weapon of resistance against undemocratic forces Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said, providing the reason why she resisted the general strike in her State regardless of her support to the issues behind the Bharat Bandh called by the Congress and backed by the Left Front.
Congratulating the people of the State for foiling another attempt to bring economic activities to a standstill she said, “I too condemn their (Narendra Modi Government) policies for ruining the Indian economy. I have been continuously fighting against the misrule perpetrated by them. But I think bandh is not the answer to their misrule,” she said.
Her statements came even as the 12-hour bandh came to a close evoking minor response with most educational institutions, industrial establishments including the IT sectors and Government offices reporting near-normal attendance.
Barring some stray incidents the bandh passed peacefully with some interruptions in train and bus services in the morning. As the day progressed things came back to normal, police said.
Attacking the Chief Minister for using the Government agencies to foil the bandh CPI(M) State secretary Suryakanto Mishra said “Mamata Banerjee cannot go against Narendra Modi because her life is in his hands. This is why she is suppressing the people’s wishes by trying to foil the bandh.”
Banerjee however said she “fully endorse the issues for which the bandh was called but on principle I am against calling bandhs as a first weapon.”
“Bandh cannot be the first weapon of resistance but a last resort to fight the undemocratic forces,” she said even as the State Congress lambasted her for circuitously backing the Modi Government.
“In Delhi her party leader Sukhendu Shekhar Roy is joining Sonia Gandhi’s dharna and in Kolkata her Government is attacking the Congress workers calling the bandh. The people has seen through her hypocrisy,” PCC president Adhir Chowdhury said adding “Narendra Modi will be happy that Mamata Banerjee is doing everything to strengthen his hands.”
Banerjee made such statements in a Government function ahead of the next month’s Durga Puja. Warning the people and the police against the “nefarious designs of a particular party” (read the BJP) which was trying to ignite riots and trigger clashes between various groups in Bengal, Banerjee said “Durga Puja is coming and so is Muharram. We must remain alert about a political ideology that has been newly imported in Bengal with a view to ignite clashes between groups and reap political dividends.”
Complaining how in 2017 how malicious campaigns were made through the social media around an administrative order earmarking two different slots for the immersion programmes, post Durga Puja and Muharram, Banerjee said “they will try to create nuisance but we will have to remain alert.”
Banerjee on Monday granted Rs 10,000 each for the State’s 28,000 Durga Puja committees. “The State will have to spend Rs 28 crore from the Community Development Programme funds so that the people can observe their festivals in a better manner,” she said.