As the dates for the much hyped BJP-sponsored Rath Yatras drew near and as the saffron outfit campaigned intensely in the interior areas for its success, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday launched a vitriolic attack on the “divisive forces that sell gods in the market for votes,” calling them “not the devotees of Lord Ram but the worshippers of (demon king) Ravan.”
The BJP had of late intensified its campaign for the three Rath Yatras scheduled to commence from three places , Ganga Sagar, Birbhum and Coochbehar, in the month of December. All the Yatras will be inaugurated by party president Amit Shah and will culminate in the historic Brigade parade Ground in Kolkata where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally presumably on January 23.
Speaking to a huge crowd at Jhargram, Banerjee said “some people were trying to divide India for political mileage by causing riots among various communities in the name of Lord Ram.” But fact to be told these “riot-mongers” were not the devotees of Ram she asserted saying “they are actually the worshippers of Ravan who have descended to sell gods and divinity to earn political mileage and votes.”
If they (read the BJP) pray Lord Ram then “we pray to Mother Goddess Durga who Lord Ram worshipped and took blessings from before going to Lanka” Banerjee reminded alleging the BJP Governments had actually failed in all fronts and hence “to cloak its failures it is fanning up communal hatred to divide people and garner vote.”
Those who divided the people could never be the friends of the society. “They who divide people can never be the friends of the society. They only thrive on division and not unity,” the Chief Minister said alleging the BJP was importing people from Jharkhand to create disturbance in Bengal.
“In Jharkhand the tribal lands are being usurped. But in Bengal we have proper land laws in place so that the lands belonging to the tribals cannot be taken away,” Banerjee said alleging “they (BJP) are sending people from Jharkhand to create disturbance here.”
Attacking the Modi Government for “numerous scams” Banerjee said “this Government is tainted with scams from Gas scam to Jan Dhan scam. Wait and you will so how many more cats tumble out of the bag.”
Accusing the saffron camp for using money power to garner votes she said the BJP was “spending money to purchase voters’ allegiance but I will advise you all to accept their cash but vote according to your conscience,” she said.
She said that during 2014 election campaigns, the BJP had promised to bring back black money stashed away in foreign banks so that they could be distributed among the poor, “but nothing has happened” since then. “Now they (BJP) are trying to use black money to spread canards and divide people.”
Reminding how 12,000 farmers had committed suicide in (BJP-ruled State) Maharashtra alone she said her Government on the contrary “has arranged for kisan credit cards, waived land taxes for the farmers besides spending huge amount on people-friendly projects like Kanyashree, Rupashree, Sabuj Saathi regardless of the debt burden we have to serve worth Rs 48,000 crore per year.”