‘Behaving like a feudal landlord’: Mamata steps up offensive against Centre

West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said Mamata Banerjee was giving a call to go to Delhi but her nephew Abhishek Banerjee was afraid to do so over fears that he might be arrested

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday renewed calls for opposition unity at her 30-hour protest to demand release of funds by the Centre, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of acting like a feudal landlord.

Chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on second day of her sit-in-protest near Ambedkar statue in Kolkata , on Thursday. (HT Photo/Samir Jana)

“We all love Netaji (Subhash Chandra Bose). He gave the ‘Chalo Delhi’ call for freedom. If the atrocities and the high-handedness of the Centre don’t stop and if people don’t get their rights, then Chalo Delhi chalo aur ek dafa hoga. We can also go to Delhi carrying pictures (of freedom fighters) in our arms,” Banerjee told the gathering at her protest in the heart of Kolkata.

“The BJP is behaving like a feudal landlord. They think that the money deposited in the banks is their money. Zamindari chal raha hai. If someone speaks out against the BJP, they send central agencies and send him to jail,” she said.

This is not the first time that she has invoked Netaji’s call. She raised the “Delhi Chalo...Lal Qila Chalo” slogan in 2018 while urging the non-BJP parties to put up a united fight against the BJP.

On Wednesday the chief minister’s nephew and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said he will take the fight to Delhi and bring the national capital to a stand-still if the Centre doesn’t release funds due to the state.

But as the TMC chief was trying to corner the BJP-led Centre in front of BR Ambedkar statute on Kolkata’s Red Road, leaders of the BJP, Congress and CPIM were extending support to a section of government employees who have been protesting against the Mamata Banerjee administration for over two months to demand a hike in DA.

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari told them that they will have to snatch what was due to them. “You have to snatch your rights. We are here to support you. We will extend all cooperation starting from getting permission from Delhi Police when you plan to go to Delhi for a demonstration. The BJP will also deploy senior lawyers to help fight the DA case in the Supreme Court,” said Adhikari.

Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday described the protesting government employees as thieves and dacoits, provoking employees to organise a rally in central Kolkata on Thursday to protest her remarks.

“We are also going for a pen-down strike on April 6. Soon we will also stage a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar,” said a protestor.