Kolkata, April 1 -- Alleging that newly appointed officials by the Election Commission of India (ECI) have been entrusted to reject nominations of her party candidates, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee, from an election rally in Birbhum's Nanoor, urged her party candidates to be cautious while filing their nominations.
Lashing out at the BJP for allegedly misusing central agencies for its political benefit, Banerjee said: "Everything has been changed; it's a new setup here. The newly appointed officers by the ECI are entrusted to reject your nomination; so be cautious while filing your nominations." She also urged people, especially women, not to vote for the BJP. "They (BJP) are anti-women, that's why their names are being deleted in SIR citing logical discrepancy," she said.
She further asserted: "It is important to defeat the BJP so that it never stands up again... There will be a big 'khela' (game) this time." Ahead of crucial Assembly polls, Banerjee also accused the BJP of land grabs, deleting voter names, and indulging in divisive politics. She also asserted that she will ensure it never regains strength in the state. From the second rally in Murshidabad's Burwa, Banerjee said she will "not give an inch of land to the BJP without a fight". "An attempt was made to grab the land of Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. An attempt was made to evict him.
They should be ashamed of themselves," she stated. Regarding the deletion of names from the voter list in the name of SIR, Banerjee said: "BJP is doing what the CPI(M) used to do. Names have been deleted. I approached the Supreme Court." Referring to the party's role in Bengal's history, Banerjee said: "When Bengal was participating in the freedom struggle, the BJP was not even born. They are looting our money and lying. They go out with guns on Ram Navami."
Banerjee, who has been holding multiple rallies every day in various districts, also welcomed a Supreme Court intervention regarding the electoral rolls. "I am happy with the Supreme Court's verdict today. There were forceful attempts to add names of outsiders to Bengal's electoral roll," she said.
On Tuesday, she wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that large-scale last-minute attempts were being made by the BJP to enroll outsiders as voters of West Bengal. While holding the rally in Burwa, she said that the Central government did nothing under the 'Ganga Action Plan' to protect the river banks of the Bhagirathi in Malda and Murshidabad. She also presented a detailed account of her government's development works.
Accusing the BJP of dividing the people along religious lines, she said: "I never indulge in communal politics or in caste politics. It is the BJP that triggers communal incidents. They talk about infiltration. They are the biggest infiltrator. It is the BJP-led Centre that protects the international border." Earlier in the day, Banerjee was unable to land at Murshidabad's Nabagram on Wednesday after a sudden thunderstorm disrupted her poll campaign. Her chopper flew from Burwa but had to return there as strong winds and heavy rain swept the area at around 2.20 pm. She later reached Nabagram by road and attended an election rally there.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.