CM: Ready to shed my blood but won’t allow divisiveness, communal discord
Times of India | 12 April 2024
Kolkata: At the Red Road Eid prayer on Thursday, CM Mamata Banerjee said she is ready to shed her blood for the country but will not allow divisiveness and communal discord till the day she is alive and urged every community to stay together.
“We are ready to shed our blood for the country but we are not ready to endure atrocities. You can engage in as much oppression and wordplay as you want, we don’t want hatred, hate speech or division.We reject NRC and CAA. We desire everyone to live together in harmony and brotherhood. As long as we are alive, we are prepared to give our lives if necessary. I do not fear death,” she said.
Banerjees’ statement comes a day after Union home minister Amit Shah’s scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress on CAA.
Assuring the gathering that she will not allow NRC, CAA and UCC to be implemented in Bengal, Banerjee said: “If they question us about our citizenship, ask them how are they citizens then? If they claim we are not citizens, we tell you in the future, you will not be there anywhere.”
Urging people that their security is the state’s responsibility, Banerjee said she would stand by them even if BJP jail her or cut her head. “All I want is communal harmony and a sky where all of us will live in peace,” she said.
She added that BJP is reaching out to Muslim functionaries and asking about their needs prior to the election but urged them not to fall into the trap. “Remember, despite corruption, conspiracy, financial doles and lawlessness, your integrity and loyalty has been the driving force in maintaining peace in Bengal. Your security is our responsibility. As long as we are here, no one will be able to oppress you,” she said addressing the crowd.
“We are in office here with your blessings forever. Even one vote of yours shouldn’t go to any other party,” she added.
Urging the community to maintain peace in the face of instigation in the near future, Banerjee said, “If anyone comes to create tension don’t step into the provocation. Stay calm.”
Banerjee also mocked the claim of the NDA winning 400 seats in the Lok Sabha. “We will build India. None else. This is our promise,” she said.
She also alleged that before the elections, BJP is moving court over trivial issues. “While our men are going to jail, their men are getting bail? I pray to you with folded hands, we need justice,” said Banerjee.
TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee urged everyone to remain united. Abhishek said, “Remember, the moon that marks Eid, also sets off Karwa Chauth celebrations. A Hindu cow, a Hindu man and a Muslim man drink the same water. The air we breathe is also not divided. The blood flowing in our bodies is red. Some will try to create divisions among all these things. But together we will stop that. The tradition of Bengal is this unity.”