Launching an attack on the BJP-led Centre after it failed to pass a Constitution amendment bill to implement women’s quota in legislatures, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “downfall” began in Parliament and will continue in Bengal.
Addressing rallies at Uluberia in Howrah, and Baruipur, Bhangar and Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas, Banerjee said the BJP’s failed bid to link women’s reservation with delimitation had exposed the Centre’s “real game” to divide the country and Bengal.
“The Delimitation Bill was a ploy to divide India and Bengal… the fall of PM Modi has officially begun,” she said, adding that the women’s reservation bill was merely a “false front for a deeper conspiracy to manipulate electoral demographics”.
“The bill was never meant for the empowerment of women. In the name of the women’s reservation bill, they wanted to divide the country. They wanted to divide Bengal as well. The BJP wanted to bring about delimitation because PM Modi could not have won with the existing number of seats. That is why he wanted to increase it to 850 seats. This was his underlying game,” Banerjee said.
In a sharp reversal of the BJP’s rhetoric, Banerjee also labeled the party as the “real Tukde Tukde Gang” accusing them of attempting to divide the nation through delimitation and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). She also slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI), referring to it as the “BJP Vanish Commission” for its alleged bias in transferring state officials and overseeing selective raids on AITC leaders.
“I said their fall is about to begin. It started yesterday. They have been severely humiliated. Now, the people of Bengal should show them humiliation. Then we will see how they stay in power,” she said.
“Yesterday, we united everyone against the BJP and defeated them in the Parliament. They could not form a majority on their own. They are sitting in power with the support of others,” Banerjee said.
Questioning why women’s reservation had been tied to delimitation, Banerjee accused the Centre of hiding its “real game” behind the language of women’s empowerment.
“We have fought for women’s reservation since 1998. We already have 50 per cent reservation for women in panchayats and municipalities. In the Lok Sabha, 37 per cent of our MPs are women. In the Rajya Sabha, women account for 46 per cent. Narendra Modi should learn from us,” she said.
She also warned voters against “outsider” agencies, urging citizens not to share bank details with anyone claiming to offer post-poll cash incentives.
Labeling the upcoming elections a “do-or-die” battle for Bengal’s cultural identity against an “arrogant” central power, she said, “If I am a political warrior, then daughters and mothers are my fellow warriors, and brothers are my protectors.” “The BJP does not have the courage to fight me; that is why they have sent 2 lakh police personnel. If they have the guts, they should face me directly,” she added.
Banerjee also listed various developmental milestones in Howrah and South 24 Parganas districts, including the Sarat Chandra Medical College, the logistics hubs in Uluberia involving Amazon and Flipkart, and the leather hub in Bhangar which she claimed employs 5 lakh people.