Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday accused the BJP of targeting Bengali-speaking citizens in states ruled by the saffron party by labelling even valid document holders as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
While addressing the assembly, she also charged the BJP with depriving those people of the right to earn their livelihood, triggering protests from the opposition bench.
During the question hour, the CM accused the saffron party of carrying out a witch-hunt against Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states.
“You (BJP) must be ashamed that you are labelling bona fide Indian citizens as Bangladeshis just because of the language they speak. One should feel proud to speak Bengali, as well as Gujarati, Marathi and Hindi. If you ask me, I can speak in all these languages,” Banerjee said.
“On one hand, you are branding Indians as Bangladeshis for their spoken word, and on the other, you are depriving these people, who hold voter ID, PAN, and Aadhaar cards, of the right to earn their livelihood in your states,” she added.
Her remarks triggered an uproar from BJP legislators, who stood up in protest and shouted slogans.
However, the chief minister continued her speech undeterred.
Accusing the Centre of blocking central funds due to the state, the CM said despite the BJP’s step-motherly treatment, the state has laid 69,000 km of roads under Pathashree and initiated Awas Yojana with Rs 11,000 crore.
“Bengal has topped road and rural housing project rankings five times in a row,” she added.
Banerjee claimed that despite the financial crunch, people in the state were getting 50 days of employment on average due to the state’s ‘karmashree’ initiative, and that her government had created 1.5 crore mandays under various schemes.
Charging the BJP government at the Centre with conspiring to block ‘Awas Yojana funds’ to the state, she said, “Under the name of making ground inspection, you had sent at least 155 central teams but could not find any lapses. How many central teams did the BJP dispatch to states ruled by you?”
“On one hand, you deprive the poor people of Bengal, while on the other, the procession of deaths in various mishaps continues in your states,” the Trinamool Congress supremo said without elaborating.
Banerjee asserted that her government was working to safeguard the interests of Scheduled Castes (26 per cent), Scheduled Tribes (6 per cent), backwards castes, and Muslims (30 per cent), in line with the Supreme Court and High Court directives on social welfare.
“None can derail our path or stop us from realising our dreams,” she asserted.
As BJP MLA Sikha Chatterjee wanted to say something to the CM, Banerjee described her as “a politician rejected in municipal elections, having no moral right to ask questions in the House.”
Chatterjee later told reporters outside the House, “What if I had branded her as someone defeated in Nandigram in assembly polls and still becoming the CM after being elected in a by-poll? She indulged in a personal attack against me.”
Meanwhile, the BJP MLAs staged a walkout after the Speaker, Biman Banerjee, refused to admit an adjournment motion over the “crisis in the education sector” linked to the SSC scam, citing that the matter is sub-judice.
During the uproar, the Speaker suspended BJP MLA Manoj Orao for the day for breach of discipline and verbally ‘cautioned’ BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh for his conduct.
All 40 BJP MLAs exited the House carrying potted tulsi plants in a symbolic protest.
As the opposition benches fell empty, Banerjee said, “They only want to use bad words and hurl baseless accusations. Will they now decide what one should wear, eat, or even which footwear to use? Will they impose diktats?”
Referring to BJP slogans branding her government as corrupt, Banerjee said she does not accept the Rs 1.5 lakh pension allotted to her as a former MP.
“Will they teach me ethics and honesty? They keep using abusive words against me. This only shows their culture and ethics. This will expose them to people to whom I have given my entire political career,” she said.
“Mark my words, the BJP will be reduced to zero in the next Assembly elections. People have rejected your politics,” she claimed.
In a veiled dig at state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, Banerjee referred to a recent controversy in which he allegedly hurled an object resembling a slipper towards a police officer during a protest near her residence.
“There is a half-central minister who is in love with slippers. Why don’t they (BJP) open slipper shops?” she said without naming anyone.
PTI
