Kolkata, April 20 -- Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Monday voiced apprehension over arrests targeting party workers, just days ahead of the high-stakes two-phase Assembly elections in Bengal.
Warning of a "disturbing pattern," Banerjee alleged that several TMC workers were being picked up in the run-up to the polls, raising questions over the timing and intent as campaigning enters its final stretch.
"They have planned to arrest many of our workers. I have got the list. We are taking legal recourse and will fight inch by inch. They have targeted only Trinamool workers. They may implicate them in false cases, including narcotics charges. A leader of the BJP is contesting from Birbhum district. He earned crores of rupees from coal smuggling. I am not mentioning his name out of politeness. BJP is a party of miscreants," Banerjee said while addressing a campaign rally at Murarai in Birbhum district on Monday afternoon.
Although she did not directly name anyone, her remarks were against the poll body, with her party already filing a petition at the Calcutta High Court, apprehending the arrest of 800 party workers before the polls, allegedly following instructions from the ECI.
She further alleged that the BJP was attempting to cripple her party's poll machinery in the state. Without naming the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which has been working as the All India Trinamool Congress's election strategy agency in recent years, Banerjee claimed that central agencies were being used to force it out of West Bengal.
"You have so many agencies working for you. I have just one. You are still asking it to go away from West Bengal. You should feel ashamed," she said .
She further alleged that central armed police forces (CAPF), deployed in the state for election duty, had been assigned the task of manipulating Electronic Voting Machines.
"I have definite information on this. Those present during the counting should keep a watch. If someone gets 100, they will record five in the computer. So, as long as the votes are updated on the computer, you should not leave the counting venue. You will have to fight. The battle must be won," she said.
Banerjee on Monday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling his unscheduled stop to buy 'jhalmuri' during a poll campaign "drama." The remark came a day after PM Modi made a brief halt during his campaign in Jhargram to purchase the popular Bengali street snack made of puffed rice, green chillies and spices.
Questioning the spontaneity of the moment, Banerjee alleged: "It's all drama. The entire scenario was staged by his own team. Otherwise, how could there have been cameras installed at the shop? How come a camera was present when the Prime Minister suddenly made an unscheduled stop during the campaign? During elections, he goes and sits inside a cave. At other times during the election period, he claims, 'I am a chaiwala (tea seller)."
She further alleged that attempts were being made to deliberately disrupt her campaign, claiming repeated delays and administrative hurdles ahead of her public meetings.
Addressing a rally in Khardah and later in Beliaghata from where Banerjee started her election campaign in Kolkata, she claimed that her flight was held up at Dum Dum airport, leading to delays in her schedule.
Banerjee claimed "non-cooperation from central agencies" was hampering her travel plans during the poll season.
"I was kept waiting on the runway for 30 minutes. They delayed it intentionally. I had started much earlier, but they kept diverting and landing other planes," she said.
She further alleged that such incidents were not isolated. "The other day, Hemant Soren's helicopter was also held up for 40 minutes," she said.
Banerjee claimed that BJP-linked elements were present at the airport and were influencing permissions.
"People of the BJP are there at the airport. They delay permissions," she alleged, adding that her tightly packed campaign schedule was being affected as a result.
In the evening, Banerjee attended a public meeting at Shakespeare Sarani under the Bhowanipore Constituency from which she herself is contesting. She addressed in the Hindi language and delivered a message of unity in the backdrop of people of different communities, caste and creeds residing there. She also attended some community meetings within her constituency after her programme at Shakespeare Sarani.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.