Mamata likens BJP to vultures, saffron camp hits back

PTI, Jun 2, 2022, 8:46 AM IST

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday likened BJP to ”vultures” and called it an ”useless political outfit” which should be defeated for the sake of the country. She called the BJP-led NDA government ”adulterated”, she said its faulty decisions such as demonetization have broken the country’s economic backbone and led to a rise in unemployment.

It was due to the BJP-led government’s mismanagement of the economy that the country is facing a crisis in wheat supply, Banerjee alleged. The BJP reacted sharply to Banerjee’s ”vulture” comment. Its spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said it reflected the mindset of the Trinamool Congress.

”All of us are well aware of the track record of the TMC,” he added.

Banerjee, who was addressing a meeting of TMC workers in Bankura district said, ”BJP is a useless party. It is the most incompetent party the country has ever seen. It will be good for the country if it is defeated in the next Lok Sabha polls. It is like a vulture, waiting for someone to die so that it can come and feed on the carcass”.

It was due to the BJP-led government’s mismanagement of the economy that the country is facing a crisis in wheat supply, Banerjee alleged. ”The Centre is not providing us wheat. It claims it doesn’t have wheat for distribution. There is a scarcity of wheat across the country … the crisis is due to faulty economic policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre,” she said.

Lashing out at the Centre for demonetisation, she wondered ”Where has all the cash gone” after it. ”Demonetisation was a major scam. What did we acheive through it? Even at that point I had said that taking back the currency will result in a big problem and won’t help people. And now it has been proved. There has been a 102 per cent increase in Rs 500 counterfeit notes,” she said.

The TMC supremo, who is among the most vocal critics of the BJP, demanded that the financial dues of West Bengal be cleared. ”The Centre must give us our money else we will say goodbye to BJP. If you can’t pay the money to states, you have no right to govern this country,” she said.

Banerjee alleged that the Centre is selling the country’s assets such as Indian Railways and insurance. ”Everything is being sold. This is how they are managing the economy”. TMC, she said, will organise protests on June 5 and 6 in various blocks of the state to protest against the Centre’s discrimination in the alleged non-payment of MNREGA funds it owed to the state.

”The Modi government has not given us the money in 5 months. I am asking all units of Trinamool Congress to hit the streets on June 5 and 6 and organise demonstrations across booths, blocks, and wards. People should ask BJP to give us our money or step down,” she said.

Referring to Maoist activities in the Jangalmahal area of the state, including Bankura, during the erstwhile Left Front regime, Banerjee lauded the state administration and her party workers for bringing back peace in the area.

Listing the various welfare schemes undertaken for backward Bankura district, where BJP has gained ground in the last few years, Banerjee hoped that its people are no longer angry with the state government or TMC as it has come up with many welfare schemes and ensured that they reach every doorstep.

”Either our workers may have made some mistakes or BJP’s slander against us may have led to some misunderstanding. But I want to ask you, has BJP done anything for the area after winning these seats? No. You won’t even see them here anymore,” she said.

Banerjee asked party workers to reach out to the masses of the district with the welfare schemes of the state government. ”I ask my party workers not to bow their heads and continue their fight. If I can fight, you too can. We are here and will remain here. We will fight and win. We don’t bow down and walk with our heads held high like the Royal Bengal Tiger”.