West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday asked Trinamool Congress workers to stay united and said the regional parties need to form a coalition to collectively fight the right-wing forces.
“The country needs regional parties to come together. I am urging the regional parties to be together and be united,” said Ms. Banerjee.
The Chief Minister was addressing party workers after an internal election where Subrata Bakshi was re-elected party’s general secretary. Ms. Banerjee asked party volunteers not to “tolerate politics to divide people using Lord Ram.”
Accusing the BJP government at the Centre of “targeting Trinamool out of political vendetta,” she said several party leaders such as former Transport Minister Madan Mitra and party MP Sudip Bandopadhyay were put behind bars on the pretext of being involved in a “conspiracy.”
Ms. Banerjee asked the Trinamool leaders against whom cases were lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation to stand up, and said they would not get cowed down as they have done nothing wrong. Recently, the CBI lodged FIRs against 13 senior Trinamool leaders in the Narada sting case.
“They [Trinamool leaders] have nothing to worry about as they have not done anything illegal... the BJP’s strategy is to put [all Opposition leaders] in jail so that no one is left to challenge them in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” Ms. Banerjee said.
Armed rallies
The CM accused the BJP of indulging in “divisive politics” and cautioned them over the recent armed rallies to mark Ram Navami. “I have never seen armed rallies here. They are taking out armed rallies to incite riots. There is a limit to our patience,” she said. She also accused the Left Front of “colluding” with the BJP.
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh denied the allegations and said the Chief Minister was making such “baseless comments” as she was afraid of the “rise of BJP” in Bengal.
