Trinamool Congress (TC) chief Mamata Banerjee announced here on Friday that her party will launch a series of political campaigns after Diwali in protest against the alleged atrocities perpetrated by the West Bengal Government through its ministers and a section of “corrupt and criminalised” administration and police.
‘Ashamed’
Reiterating her demand for the arrest of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee for allegedly threatening TC supporters through a section of the police and “worsening the law and order situation in the State,” Ms. Banerjee said at a press conference: “I wonder what the Chief Minister thinks about himself. We sometimes feel ashamed to have born in this State due to his presence.”
Alleging that the development of West Bengal has been stalled under the present State government and that the law and order situation is jeopardised, she demanded that the State government be toppled and Article 356 be invoked.
Ms. Banerjee’s statements were reactions against the arrest of Partha Chatterjee, Leader of the Opposition in the State’s Assembly, and three other TC MLAs on the day for protesting in front of the Chief Minister’s office at the State Secretariat.
The TC leaders protested against a local leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Hooghly district committee for allegedly threatening TC supporters and directing the police to take action against them.
“Mr. Chatterjee and the others had not broken prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr.P.C that is imposed at the Secretariat. They had gone there to democratically seek justice and were protesting peacefully. But the way they were physically manhandled shows that the State government has lost all credibility,” Ms. Banerjee said.
‘My phones are tapped’
She also alleged that the State government was tapping her phones and invading her privacy, adding that she would take up the matter with the Prime Minister.
“I am not able to give instructions to my departments as a Railway Minister as all railway phones are being tapped. Even Mr. Bhattacharjee has acknowledged the fact…I will seek justice from the Prime Minister…It is a helpless situation,” Ms. Banerjee said.
