Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee warned the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday that if central agencies arrest four of her party leaders, the state police would arrest eight BJP leaders in the state in return.
“They have sent four of our legislators to jail, thinking that they would bring down our numbers in this way. If they send four of my people to jail in corruption cases and malign them, I will send eight of them to jail in murder and other cases,” Banerjee said in Kolkata.
She was addressing a party leaders’ meeting in Kolkata at the Netaji Indoor stadium. The meeting was attended by TMC MPs, MLAs and a few hundred leaders right up to the block and village levels. TMC’s national general secretary addressed the meeting virtually.
“Today you are laughing because our party leaders Anubrata Mondol, Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya, Jyoti Priya Mallick and a few other leaders are in jail. This tradition will continue. In future when you would no longer be on the chair, where would you be? In a cell?” she said adding that the centre has kept everyone at gun-point.
At least five high-profile TMC leaders, including four legislators of whom two were state ministers, are now in judicial custody after they were arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in multiple corruption cases.
“You (BJP) think that you will do anything because you are in power at the centre. You are using ED and CBI against the TMC, Arvind Kejriwal, Ashok Gehlot’s son and other leaders. In the coming days the same officers would go after you and none would give you any protection,” she said
“You went abroad and purchased several aircraft. One day questions would be raised. One day you had raised questions against Rajiv Gandhi over Bofors. I had contested that election. Bofors were drawn was wall graffiti. Chor slogans were raised. What was your deal now? They have sold off everything. Where did the money go?” she added.
The BJP however hit back saying that the TMC chief has begun to threaten the opposition.
“She knows that she is losing ground. In the coming days more of her party leaders would go to jail on charges of corruption. Neither the BJP nor the centre has anything to do with the arrests. These are all court-ordered probes. Her police have also tried to dig out cases against BJP leaders but failed. There are courts,” Rahul Sinha, BJP leader told the media.
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Speaking about some of her party leaders, who were earlier arrested including Jyoti Priya Mallick, Banerjee said that she doesn’t believe that they were corrupt. She also broke her silence over the controversy surrounding party MP Mahua Moitra.
“They have planned to expel Mahua. This will make her popular for three months. She used to speak inside the parliament, now she will address the press everyday outside the parliament. How does it matter? Only a fool would do this, three months before the polls,” she added.
Banerjee also lashed out at the BJP-led centre over India’s defeat that the final of the ICC World Cup against Australia.
“Had the final match been held at Kolkata or at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, we would have won. Everything has been saffronised. Even they wanted to change the blue colour of the jersey (of the Indian cricket team). But it couldn’t be done because of resistance from players. But still some saffron was used in the blue jersey,” she added.
A second BJP leader also criticised Banerjee.
“She knows that several projects of the state government will not materialise. Hence she is saying all these. He is doing politics with sports. Games and sports have taken a back seat in West Bengal,” Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s national vice president told media.
Banerjee, in turn, urged the RSS not to support two top leaders of the BJP in the next election without naming the leaders.
“On Chhath puja I saw an RSS-camp in one ghat. I have no problem if they preach religion. But don’t support the man who has dealt the country its biggest blow. You have supported many people several times. I have nothing to say against you. But I would say don’t support the two men. They are two partners,” she added without naming them.
Lok Sabha polls
The TMC supremo virtually sounded the poll bugle for the 2024 Loak Sabha elections while laying down a road map for her party leaders on how to prepare for the battle ahead.
“We will again go to Delhi in the second and third week of December. I will seek an appointment with the Prime Minister. If we don’t get an appointment the road will show us the way. If the police hit us we will grow in strength,” she added.
With the 2024 Lok Sabha polls approaching and the ruling party in West Bengal facing corruption charges in multiple fronts including cattle smuggling, recruitment scam, coal smuggling and ration distribution scam, Banerjee warned her leaders saying that she won’t tolerate complaints of corruption.
Leaders have been asked to check infighting and increase communication with the local people, showcase the developments and attack the BJP for stopping funds to the centre.
