Asserting that her party was still a part of the INDIA bloc at the national level, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo on Saturday said that if the alliance is voted to power after the Lok Sabha elections, it will “abolish” the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
Addressing an election rally in Arambagh in Hooghly, Banerjee said, “While there is no alliance (between TMC and other INDIA bloc allies) in Bengal as the local Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress units are working for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), we are with the INDIA bloc at the national level. The alliance was named INDIA by me, which is why they tried to remove the name India from the Constitution. If the BJP comes to power again, they will attack the Constitution,” she said.
Banerjee hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the “misuse” of central probe agencies and not releasing the state’s pending funds under various welfare schemes.
“When the INDIA bloc comes to power, we will abolish CAA, NRC and UCC and stop the misuse of central agencies. When the INDIA Bloc forms the government, we will also ensure that Bengal’s needs are met,” she added.
The CM also alleged that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent interview to a TV channel where he suggested that investors should buy shares “before June 4″, Banerjee said, “If they (BJP) weren’t afraid of their imminent defeat, why else would Amit Shah ask people to invest in shares? They are using that to pool money. How can Shah make these comments during the ongoing polls? This is a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). I want to make it clear that the Modi government is not coming back to power and this is why Shah had to say these things.” The counting of votes for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections is slated for June 4.
“Bengal had ensured the country’s independence and it will change the Modi government. If they come to power again, there will be no elections anymore and the Constitution will be in danger. When Modi babu loses, Bengal will win,” Banerjee added.
Terming Modi as a “jumla PM” who only spreads misinformation and gives false promises, she said he had promised two crore jobs in every year in the last polls. “So the total number would go up to 10 crore. How many actually get jobs promised by Modi? Why is he not repeating the same promise this time?… I have not seen such a jumla government in my entire political life,” Banerjee said.
–With PTI