Mandirbazar (West Bengal): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Thursday that Bengal does not need money from the BJP as it has enough resources to rebuild the ‘Vidyasagar’ statue which was vandalised at a Kolkata college following Amit Shah’s roadshow, Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Uttar Pradesh, had promised to install the statue at the same spot where it stood before being desecrated on Tuesday.
Addressing a rally here, Banerjee said, “(Narendra) Modi has promised to rebuild the Vidyasagar statue in Kolkata. Why should we take their (BJP’s) money, Bengal has enough resources.”
She also attacked the BJP, claiming that vandalizing statues was one of its habits and that the party has done so in Tripura as well. “The BJP has destroyed 200-year-old heritage of West Bengal, those supporting the party will not be accepted by the society,” warned the Trinamool Congress supremo. .
Hitting out at the saffron party over its social media posts, the TMC top leader asserted that the BJP had been spreading canards over ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’. “The BJP is trying to instigate people and cause riots with its fake posts on social media,” pointed out Banerjee.
Earlier in the day, the West Bengal CM thanked the leaders of opposition parties, who came out in her support as she protested against the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to cut short the poll campaign duration in the state.
“Thanks and gratitude to @Mayawati, @yadavakhilesh, @INCIndia, @ncbn and others for expressing solidarity and support to us and the people of #Bengal. EC’s biased actions under the directions of the #BJP are a direct attack on democracy. People will give a befitting reply,” Banerjee tweeted.
The poll panel Wednesday cut short campaigning for the last round of voting in West Bengal, in the wake of violence between the BJP and the TMC workers in Kolkata.
Agencies
