Kolkata: Throwing an open challenge to BJP president Amit Shah over the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday dared the saffron party to implement the NRC in West Bengal. In a clear warning to the BJP, she declared that Bengal’s “tigers” will fight tooth and nail to not allow the NRC in the state.
The West Bengal chief minister also predicted that the BJP will be ousted from power at the Centre next year. She was addressing the foundation day rally of the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad, the ruling party’s student wing, on Mayo Road where Mr Shah had pressed during a BJYM rally on August 11 for the NRC implementation in the state to throw out illegal immigrants from Bangladesh after uprooting the Trinamul from power.
In a threatening mood, Ms Banerjee said, “They have declared to throw out people from Bengal like they have done in Assam. We ask them to touch us and see what happens next. Only then they will realise what Bengal is. Bengal will protest the way it had done in favour of Assam. If any Indian citizen is thrown out then we, being Indians, will not spare them.”
Bantering the BJP, Ms Banerjee wondered, “They now want everyone’s birth certificates of at least three generations! But who will give your birth certificates? First you furnish the birth certificates of your three generations. Do you remember your mother and grand-mother’s birthdays when you ask us for the same? Now they are giving lectures to introduce NRC here also.” She continued, “Who will introduce it here? All are bagher bachcha (tiger cubs) here. So, it will not be so easy. Before introducing it here they will cease to exist. When will they introduce it? 2019 will ring the bell to bid you adieu.”
Training guns on the Modi government Ms Banerjee alleged, “Forget the Emergency during Indira Gandhi’s rule. What is going on now is more than Emergency. The people neither have the right to free speech nor practising their faith. They also do not have the right to eat and wear according to their choice. Recently Mogul Sarai station was renamed. One day we will come to know they perhaps tried to rename Lal Qila also. They are doing whatever they want. The RSS workers have taken control of Kanyakumari. Prof Amartya Sen was removed from Nalanda University.”
Blaming the BJP for spreading violence in the state, the Trinamul chief complained, “A dangerous conspiracy has been underway to divide the nation. The value of rupee has fallen. Only the price of rioting has shot up. We can proudly say that there was no problem in Jangalmahal. No one was murdered by the Maoists. Darjeeling was also peaceful. But Delhi cannot tolerate it. Their job is to trigger unrest only.”
According to her, “They got busy with Darjeeling and brought the hills to a halt. We worked hard to restore normalcy there. They are now doing politics of murder after getting few seats out of thousands in Jangalmahal. The CPI(M)’s mercineries who unleashed terror on the people for 34 years in the state have now become the BJP’s butchers.”
