Mamata calls for mass movement against BJP

Apparently emboldened by the by-election results in Patna and Madhya Pradesh, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called for a mass movement against the BJP in Bengal, particularly referring to the recent “disrespectful” remarks made against Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose by some senior politicians and frequent arrests of TMC workers.

Releasing a strong video in which she alleged large-scale intimidation of TMC workers by way of false cases and incarceration and forced occupation of panchayats, the former Chief Minister said that the present Government was inflicting “untold oppression in various forms.”

Calling out for a mass movement, Banerjee said how the BJP had turned Sonar Bangla (golden Bengal) into “prison” even as she asked, “Where has the peace and cultural harmony gone today for which Bengal was famous?” She said, “They have turned Bengal into a mega prison.”

Apparently referring to recent remarks by two Rajya Sabha MPs from Bengal, she said how some people who had no idea of Bengal’s culture and politics had started publicly humiliating national icons like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. “Netaji and Rabindranath Tagore have suddenly gone out of the country… they are being insulted, and some people are poking fun at them… some even are calling him (Netaji) a traitor, which is unacceptable… we are ashamed to hear what they are saying … they are disrespecting Netaji in his own place,” Banerjee said, adding how Bengali was fast disappearing from Bengal.

Referring to how the police were being “misused” for political purposes, she said, “I always respected the police, but this police is different… they are intimidating… they are asking me (MPs and MLAs) to either join the other group or go to jail… is this the job of police?”

Saying that the BJP was capturing the local panchayats by using force and intimidating the members, she urged the public and party workers to come together and build a strong mass movement against these actions. “They have registered thousands of false cases on our workers and are forcing the panchayat and municipality members to join them… it is not democracy and should be protested against,” she said.

She also alleged that the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers were also being humiliated and attacked at various places.

Referring to her own “victimisation,” she said, “they have even stopped royalty on my books on which I rely for my living.” Banerjee’s remarks gain significance amid rising political tensions in Delhi and the BJP’s defeat in two out of three Assembly by-elections.