TMC leaders targeted by Modi-Shah after announcement of bypoll dates: Mamata

Kolkata, Sep 8: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of using central agencies to target Trinamool Congress leaders as part of the BJP’s vendetta politics, as soon as the assembly by-poll dates were announced. The state BJP described her allegations as baseless.
Claiming that the BJP is worse than Duryodhana and Dushashana, Kaurava brothers in the Mahabharata, Banerjee alleged that Modi and Shah had hatched a conspiracy to defeat her in Nandigram during the assembly election held earlier this year and forced her to contest a by-poll.
The TMC supremo, who started her poll campaign for the Bhabanipur by-election, also alleged that the saffron party is targeting party general secretary and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee for political reasons, claiming there is no valid case against him.
“We only know how we fought against all odds to win the assembly polls. The BJP brought in goons from other states during the assembly elections. I had to contest this by-poll as a conspiracy was hatched against me (in Nandigram),” she said while addressing a workers’ meet here.
Banerjee was defeated by the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari from the Nandigram seat in the assembly elections held earlier this year. She needs to win the by-poll to continue as chief minister.
“The BJP is pursuing vendetta politics and is targeting Abhishek Banerjee…. As soon as by-poll dates are announced, TMC leaders are being summoned by (central) agencies. “This is a conspiracy hatched by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to harass us. Even Duryodhana and Dushashana were not as bad as the BJP. They have used this same technique to harass the Congress, the RJD, Sharad Pawarji (of the NCP),” she said.
Banerjee, without naming Suvendu Adhikari, said central agencies have not touched him despite his name being cropped up in the Narada bribery case. “To take revenge on me, they are grilling Abhishek. Two days back he was questioned for nine hours, again he has been summoned. But the main culprits are roaming outside. They are calling our leaders for interrogation. But the one whose name appeared in connection with the Narada scam has not been called,” she said.
Banerjee announced that she will file her nomination for the Bhabanipur bypoll on Friday. “If there is any case against any BJP leader in Bengal under the jurisdiction of state police, he will immediately seek reprieve so that no action as per law can be taken against him. This is their double standard,” she said.
The BJP is selling off the country while unemployment is at a record high, the TMC supremo alleged. “Under the BJP government, India has lost its place in the world. But when these questions are raised, the government targets the opposition with ED and CBI,” she said. (PTI)