KOLKATA, March 7: Escalating her confrontation with constitutional authorities in the run-up to the assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday accused President Droupadi Murmu of speaking “on BJP’s advice”, questioning her “silence” on “atrocities” against tribals in states such as Manipur and Chhattisgarh.
Banerjee’s unusually sharp remarks came hours after Murmu, during a visit to north Bengal, questioned the pace of development among tribals in parts of the state, and wondered whether the CM was “upset” as neither she nor any state minister was present to receive her.
The exchange has injected a fresh political edge into the tribal outreach battle between the ruling TMC and the BJP ahead of the polls, with Banerjee linking the controversy to the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“I feel ashamed to even say this. We respect the Hon’ble President. But, she too, has been sent to sell politicsâ?¦ I am sorry, madam. I have great regard for you, but you are being guided by BJP policies and BJP instructions,” she said, addressing a gathering in Kolkata.
The CM also rejected the allegation that the state government had not sent representatives to Murmu’s programme, claiming the information conveyed to the President was incorrect.
“It is wrong information that there was no one from the state to attend your programme,” Banerjee said.
Responding to Murmu’s observation that the tribal community’s annual programme had been shifted from Bidhannagar to Goshaipur, she said the event was not organised by the state government.
“We did not even know about it. I don’t know who organised it, who attended it or who funded it,” she claimed.
Banerjee also said the timing of Murmu’s visit coincided with an intense political phase in the state.
“If you come once a year, I can welcome you. But, if you come repeatedly during election time, how is it possible for me to attend everything?
“Are we supposed to keep following you all the time? Should we roam around with a spool like someone flying a kite? Kites are flown during Vishwakarma Puja, once a year,” the TMC supremo said.
VOTER DELETIONS AIMED AT DIVING BENGAL: MAMATA
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that voter deletions in the post-SIR electoral rolls were aimed at dividing the state.
The CM continued her protest for the second consecutive day on Saturday, after she spent the night at the sit-in site at Metro Channel in central Kolkata.
“Their (Election Commission and BJP) intent is to divide Bengal. The BJP is planning to take away votes by dividing Bengal and turn parts of the state into a union territory.”
“They (BJP leaders) are subjecting Bengali-speaking people to harassment in other states and are conspiring to deprive Bengalis of their voting rights,” Banerjee alleged at the protest site.
The chief minister claimed that she saw in a tweet a day ago that Bengal and Bihar could be divided to form a union territory.
“Let them touch Bengal if they have the guts. This is their conspiracy. They did it once in Bihar by creating Jharkhand, and now they are trying to do it again,” she said.
Slamming the Election Commission for allegedly deleting lakhs of names in the post-SIR electoral rolls, Banerjee said 36,000 votes were deleted from a single assembly constituency, like Dinhata.
“In my own constituency, 60,000 votes have been deleted. I challenge you to delete the entire voter list,” she said while asking several women from her Bhabanipur constituency to come on the stage and show their documents.
“You want to divide Bengal, but first deal with Epstein. Remember, the more you attack us, the stronger the retaliation will be,” she said, referring to the Epstein Files row, but did not elaborate about the link.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), thousands of women will hit the streets in the city on Sunday to protest against the deletion of women’s names from the voter list and the hike in LPG prices, the TMC supremo said, adding that the protesters will wear black clothes. (PTI)
