The Trinamool Congress has dared the BJP to proceed against Mamata Banerjee with “as many FIRs as they want but those pressure tactics will not have any impact on our leader.”
Hardening its stance on National Register of Citizens in Assam, the Bengal Chief Minister had earlier said that a conspiracy was being hatched against the Bengali-speaking people of Assam so that they were forced to flee that State.
Banerjee told a rally at Birbhum that “they have conspired to drive away the people who are staying there for the last 30-40 years. About a crore of people including the large majority of Bengalis might be driven away from that State after their names are struck off the NRC.”
Even as she warned the Assam BJP Government against “playing with fire which will one day burn their own tent,” Banerjee said she would continue to work for the common people who were deprived and oppressed.
Out of 3.29 applicants about 1.9 crore names appeared in the first NRC draft released on December 31. Soon a FIRs were lodged against Banerjee in Assam even as a senior BJP leader of that State said “she is using all these words for her political gain as Mamata and company are pretty scared seeing the rise of the BJP across the country. It seems that she doesn’t have any knowledge on the NRC process. The NRC authorities must lodge a complaint against her.”
Reacting sharply to the steps taken by the authorities in Assam Trinamool Congress Ministers in Bengal said there was an attempt to brow-beat Mamata Banerjee.
“The people who are acquainted with her political career of the past 40-45 years are aware that no such browbeating will stop Mamata Banerjee from taking up the cause of people.
Whenever the people will be oppressed, their rights will be taken away she will rise up in rebellion.
FIRs will be of no use against her,” said State Minister Partho Chatterjee.
The Chief Minister who officially launched the State logo of Bengal in Kolkata would not however mince words on the NRC issue.