Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said intolerance and vendetta politics have become a policy for a political party and the government in the country.
Without naming the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee, while addressing a party rally on the 25th anniversary of Babri mosque demolition, said “A certain political party continues to indulge in communal politics and keeps on trying to divide the nation.
Religion cannot be the agenda of any government. Journalists are getting killed, people are being lynched. Who has allowed this to happen? Who has given these people the right? The government must protect its people. A true leader must take everyone along and cannot be someone who indulges in divisive politics.”
“Who are they to decide what kind of food a person will eat? They are even dictating what pregnant women and lactating mothers will eat. Their only agenda is to issue fatwas and incite communal tension and trigger violence,” she alleged.
Hitting out at the BJP for “pursuing vendetta politics”, Banerjee challenged the saffron party to fight a political battle on the plank of development.
“They cannot even provide basic healthcare facilities to the children in UP and keep talking big. Farmer suicides are common and BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Roti-kapda-makaan (food, clothing and shelter) must be the basic issue during elections along with development. Can communal agenda and religion be the mainstay of any election campaign? Will the people not judge a party on whether it has fulfilled its promises made in its election manifesto? They (BJP) don’t understand a basic fact that chairs and posts are temporary. They come and go on people’s decision and you cannot keep fooling people for long,” the TMC supremo said.
Stressing on electoral reforms and increased transparency, Banerjee said the Election Commission should take a serious note about regular complaints on EVMs.
“A section of media, mostly some television news channels are spreading misleading facts about Uttar Pradesh municipal elections. The truth is BJP’s vote share in that state has slipped by 13 per cent,” she claimed.
The West Bengal chief minister also criticised the BJP for accusing her government of pursuing appeasement politics.
“Bengal has nearly 31 per cent Muslim population and as a chief minister, it is my duty to look after them just as I am supposed to look after other people, including the tribals and scheduled castes. If anybody says that working for people is appeasement, then I am happy to do it. At least we don’t target any particular community or Dalits in our state,” Banerjee said.