Not staking claim today doesn't mean can't do so later: Mamata Banerjee
Times of India | 9 June 2024
KOLKATA: The INDIA bloc's decision not to stake any claim to form the govt today does not mean that it is not going to stake claim tomorrow, CM Mamata Banerjee has said, adding that TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar "are also our friends".
Banerjee, who met Trinamool's 29 new MPs at her Kalighat residence on Saturday, also took a swipe at BJP and Narendra Modi, saying the NDA govt might not last even "15 days".She would not have tried to form the next govt if she were in Modi's shoes, she said.
"We are waiting and watching the situation. We will be happy if this unstable, tottering, and weak government, which has nothing to offer to people, returns home quickly and starts their meditations and penance. INDIA will keep its commitment to people," the CM said.
Banerjee said Trinamool Congress would not join Modi's swearing-in ceremony in Delhi on Sunday. Indicating that there was no invite, she said, "Na eshche na jabeh (no invite has come, neither will anyone go). This government is undemocratic, unconstitutional and illegal... I cannot wish them well. My wishes are for the people and the country... let us hope for the best. People did not vote for them." She added that after such a big loss, the right thing "for Modi Babu" would have been to leave the PM's chair for someone else.
The CM also supported INDIA bloc partners on several issues, including Rahul Gandhi's "stock market scam allegation".
Mamata targets EC, alleges 'total loot' of votes in East Midnapore Lok Sabha seats
CM Mamata Banerjee repeated Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's allegation about a "stock market scam" and said a Trinamool Congress delegation, led by Rajya Sabha senior Derek O'Brien would visit Haryana to express solidarity with the state's farmers. Banerjee also invited INDIA bloc partners to visit Bengal saying, "If they want to organise any meeting in Kolkata, I welcome all of them."
The meeting in Kalighat on Saturday started with a resolution thanking 'Ma Mati Manush'. "We thank those who voted for us and also those who did not. Voting is a personal choice, but we hope the peace and unity with which Bengal is moving ahead will continue," Banerjee said. She also congratulated "giant-killer Yusuf Pathan" for defeating Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in his bastion (Behrampore) and admitted that at one point she was anxious about the wins of Mahua Moitra (Krishnanagar) and Rachna Banerjee (Hooghly).
She, however, alleged that the Election Commission had manipulated results in some seats to help BJP, particularly in East Midnapore where "there was total loot" and rued that only one of the 12 women fielded by her party lost (Sujata Mondal in Bishnupur by just 5,567 votes) due to the machinations of the EC.
The CM said Trinamool's first demand from the new govt at Centre would be to repeal NRC and demanded that the district magistrate's power to probe and grant citizenship based on appeals be reinstated. She also said that Centre should immediately clear the state's dues. "Do not consider us weak. Trinamool is the third largest party. In Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha we have 42 MPs," she added.