West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for indicating that she may contest from another seat anticipating defeat in Nandigram. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said that the Prime Minister should remember that she is not a BJP member so that he will control her.
Speaking at a rally in Cooch Behar district’s Dinhata, Mamata said that she does not need the Prime Minister’s suggestion on contesting from another seat apart from Nandigram.
“First, the Prime Minister should control his Home Minister Amit Shah and then think of controlling us. Remember, we are not members of your party so that you will control us. I have contested only from Nandigram and will win from there,” said Banerjee.
Her comments come a day after the Prime Minister at a rally in Howrah district that Mamata should come clean on rumors that she may contest from an alternate seat.
Accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah of influencing the Election Commission (EC), Mamata said that the West Bengal Assembly elections were not being conducted by the EC but by Shah. She also accused the Central forces of trying to intimidate voters.
The Chief Minister indicated that the BJP may resort to horse trading if the TMC wins in the Assembly elections with a thin margin. She urged the people to elect TMC candidates in more than 200 seats adding that anything less than that will result into the BJP buying the traitors.
“I want you to ensure that we win more than 200 seats as anything else will mean that BJP will buy the ‘gaddars’(traitors).
Earlier the TMC supremo had expressed her concern that the BJP may buy the polling agents of her party who play a crucial role in electoral malpractices such as booth jamming and fake voting.
Speaking at another rally at Natabari in the district the Chief Minister said that leaders from Tamil Nadu, which will go to polls next week, have contacted her regarding Income Tax raids on the relatives of DMK leader M K Stalin.
“Raids by Central agencies in Bengal are also motivated by similar vindictive politics,” said Mamata.
At another rally in Alipurduar district the Chief Minister said that the BJP Government has excluded the names of 14 lakhs people from the NRC and was planning similar things in Bengal.