Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said Bengal in coming days would play an important role at the national level before ascribing to herself the role of “pehradar” (janitor) who would “fend off the bad specter” of Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register for Citizens.
“If someone (read Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is your chowkidar (watchman) I am your pehradar who will protect your rights. Till I am there no one will be able to take away your rights,” the Chief Minister said iterating “there will be no CAA, no NRC, no NPR in Bengal. Till I am there I will not allow such things to happen in Bengal.”
Saying that the Indian citizens have a birth right to be Indians andno one can take away that birth right Banerjee said “we are Indiancitizens not by the grace of anyone. We don’t live at the mercy ofanyone. We live in India because we are Indian citizens. That is ourright and I will not allow anyone to take away that right.”
Reminding that she was the custodian of the people’s rights Banerjeesaid, “I will not allow anyone to harm your interests.” She wasaddressing a public rally at Pathar Pratima in Sunderban area of South24 Parganas.
Saying that her agitation against National Register of Citizens (NRC)and National Population Register (NPR) would go on indefinitely,Banerjee said that she would go any distance to preserve the people’sbasic rights.
“Remember Bengal in the coming days is going to play a major role inthe national politics. And I as your Pehradar ensure you that … I willnot allow anyone to tamper with the status quo,” she said.
In a related development Kolkata on Tuesday saw three huge ralliestaken out by members of the civil society and students from variousplaces. Among the civil society members who walked in the processionwere film star Kaushik Sen, directors Anik Dutta and Anjan Dutta,painter Wasim Kapoor and others.
Meanwhile, the State Government on Tuesday had to call of a healthdepartment programme piloted by the Anganwadi workers in the interiorregions of Murshidabad district where large number of people gatheredand drove away the government staff suspecting they were collecting data under the CAA-NRC scheme.