Kolkata, Aug. 28 -- Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday claimed that the police had a humane face during her regime and the BJP turned the force into a "monstrous entity". Addressing a rally of the TMC students' wing in Kolkata, Banerjee said she will stop the "police atrocities" on her supporters, asserting that it was her pledge on Raksha Bandhan. "BJP is playing divisive politics in Bengal and using the police to spread fear among the people," she alleged.
The TMC supremo said she will soon start a tour of the state, and walk the streets if her public meetings aren't allowed. "I will see how many eggs and bricks they have in stock," she said, targeting the ruling BJP over the alleged attacks on party leaders in various parts of the state. Banerjee said she does not want to waste the court's time by seeking permission for rallies every time the administrations decline them. "Henceforth, we will take the people's nod for holding meetings at the venues we want," she added.
The former CM alleged that the BJP "hijacked" the last assembly elections by using the Election Commission. "They used the SIR to loot votes by illegally removing lakhs of names from electoral rolls," she claimed. Banerjee also attacked the Suvendu Adhikari government over the eviction drives in the state. "I have no objection to eviction of hawkers from pavements as long as they are properly rehabilitated. If you can't rehabilitate, then compensate them with Rs 25,000 per month," she said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.