Bengal, Feb 9: Taking a swipe at dissident TMC leaders who have switched camps, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said “gaddars (traitors)” like Mir Jafar should not be forgotten and people would teach them a lesson in the upcoming elections.
Speaking at a public rally in Murshidabad, Banerjee said, “We have not forgotten the gaddars like Mir Jafar (who backstabbed Siraj Ud-Daulah during the battle of Plassey). We should never forget the gaddars. You should all teach them a lesson. There are some who indulged in corruption have now jumped to BJP…to enter the BJP washing machine to get cleaned.”
The TMC supremo said it was ironic that the Centre did not have funds to bear the travel expenses of migrant workers but a turncoat leaders were flown to Delhi on a chartered plane. Last month, former state forest minister Rajib Banerjee, along with other TMC defectors, flew to Delhi in a chartered plane to join BJP.
The CM also reiterated that she would not allow National Population Register (NPR) in Bengal. “I will never allow NPR in Bengal. That’s why they are against me,” she said.
Training her guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said, “Have you ever heard a PM lying? Recently, the PM said state government employees are not getting salaries. Modi babu shows me which state govt employee has not got a salary. You must reply why you are selling BSNL, railways.”
The TMC chief stressed that Murshidabad and Malda would play a big role in government formation this time. Former TMC heavyweight and Minister Suvendu Adhikari is known to have significant clout among the people in the two regions.
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Mamata asserted that TMC was the best bet to fight the BJP in Bengal. “Congress will say things but they can’t fight the BJP. CPM too is a friend of the BJP. BJP has sent a few Muslim organizations to create communal strife. If you vote for them, it will benefit the BJP,” she said.
Mamata also said that West Bengal would be ruled by those from the state and not by those coming from Gujarat. “BJP is not a party from Bengal…it is a Gujarati party, danga party. They are neither for Hindus nor Muslims. They say hari hari and indulge in chori of the common man,” she said.
