West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should get a “tight slap of democracy” for alleging that the Trinamool Congress government in the state was run by extortionist syndicates, PTI reported.
Banerjee claimed the prime minister was known for lying. “I do not bow my head in politics,” Banerjee said at a rally in Purulia. “When Modi alleges that Trinamool Congress is a party of syndicates...its government is run by syndicates, I feel he should get a tight slap of democracy [be defeated in election].”
She claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party has lakhs of rupees at its disposal and indulges in violence. “This is their politics, they don’t have any ideology,” Banerjee said, according to ANI. “Money doesn’t matter to me. That is why when Narendra Modi came to Bengal and accused my party of being tolabaaz [extortionist], I wanted to give him a tight slap of democracy.”
She claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi had politicised Hindu deity Ram. Her remark was a reference to their criticism of her reprimanding a group of people who were chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, in a video that went viral. “I will not join them [the BJP] in shouting their slogan,” Banerjee said. “I will rather say Jai Hind.”
She refuted Modi and Shah’s claims that she had disallowed Durga Puja and other Hindu rituals to be held in the state. “Do you believe those allegations?” she asked the crowd.
Later in Bankura, she raised doubts about the BJP’s claim of being patriotic. “I do not know who Gandhiji’s killers were,” Banerjee said. “But we know the name of Nathuram Godse, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh man. When you speak of patriotism and serving the nation can you tell us who he was. Did you fight for the country’s independence? You [the BJP] had supported the British. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
She alleged that the BJP had instigated riots between “Hindus and Muslims, Muslims and Christians and Muslims and adivasis” during the last five years. “We [TMC] do not want Modi to stay in power. We will help in government formation in Delhi,” she added.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!