Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the BJP, which got a chance to rule the country because of the mistakes of the Congress, should be prepared to be ousted from power.
“The BJP came to power, courtesy the Congress party’s follies. Now, it should get ready to be dislodged from power,” she said.
“The party should first set its own house in order before giving lectures to others,” she added. The chief minister said that in the recent Punjab Assembly elections, people did not vote for BJP.
Ms Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of a booster pumping station at Harish Park in south Kolkata, not far from her Kalighat residence.
She criticised “destructive” politics of opposition parties in the state, including CPI(M) and Congress. She reserved her firepower for the BJP and the Narendra Modi government.
She said the BJP used money and muscle power, and misused Central investigating agencies such as the CBI and the ED to intimidate parties and topple state governments.
On demonetisation, Ms Banerjee said it completely ruined the country’s economy. “Our country has been slowly but steadily progressing but demonetisation resulted in a big setback,” she said, adding that the decision to scrap '1,000 and '500 notes was actually aimed at helping those who had a large stock of black money.
“I may be a layperson, but even an economist of repute like Manmohan Singh has described demonetisation as organised loot,” she added.
Ms Banerjee said the BJP has been threatening her with the CBI for persistently raising her voice against Mr Modi’s demonetisation decision. “You can unleash 1000 CBIs against me, but I will go on fighting for the people’s cause,” she added.
Turning her attention to the Congress, the chief minister said the party ruled at the Centre for a long time. “But it messed up in Delhi. The Congress should not even cast a glance toward Bengal,” she added.
She said even the CPI(M) failed to deliver despite people giving it overwhelming support for 34 years. “CPI(M) is a lost case. It has no credibility. Now it should sit silently and let those who are working tirelessly for progress and prosperity for the state work in peace,” she said.
Ms Banerjee said she is confident of Bengal’s transformation. “Bengal will turn around. It is our determination, dedication and devotion,” she added.
