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Mamata Banerjee stages dharna against EC ban, targets BJP in rallies later
Mamata Banerjee accuses BJP of making ‘ominous efforts’ to stop her from campaigning, says she will ‘stay in the battlefield’
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a three-hour sit-in protest in Kolkata against a 24-hour campaign ban imposed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and later attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in late-evening rallies on Tuesday.
Banerjee was barred from campaigning for allegedly appealing to Muslim voters to unite and urging local women to surround central forces if they create disturbances. The one-day ban came days after four people were killed by central forces, allegedly after they came under attack, during polling in north Bengal.
Addressing a rally in south Bengal’s Barasat minutes after her ban ended at 8 pm, Banerjee said efforts were on to stop her from campaigning and asserted that she was a street fighter.
“BJP can campaign and I am not allowed to campaign. I will not say anything, the people of Bengal will take call on it. They are watching everything,” she said.
“You may have money, men, touts and all central agencies but still you will lose because I am street fighter; I don’t give instructions from the top. I stay in the battlefield,” she added, but steered clear of mentioning the ECI or central forces.
She held her first rally at Barasat in North 24 Parganas at 8:15 pm. A second rally was held at Bidhannagar in the district at 9 pm.
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“I don’t understand why, centering around the election, full-fledged efforts are being made to stop me. Ominous efforts are being made to stop me and to blame Bengal by all BJP leaders, big and small, along with central agencies. If you hit me, I can hit back,” she said in Barasat.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee held a demonstration against her ban. She arrived at Mayo Road in Kolkata around 11.30 am and began her protest next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with security personnel having cordoned off the area. The CM, who had a black scarf around her neck as a mark of protest, took to painting.
The fifth and largest round of the eight-phase assembly elections will be held on April 17 and ECI has extended the silent period in the constituencies going to the polls to 72 hours, aiming to ward off disturbances.
At the Barasat rally, Banerjee blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for rising Covid-19 cases in the country. “When Covid-19 happened, where were they? They were not seen for over a year. Because of your negligence, Covid-19 cases are rising in the country. The cases have risen due to your incompetence,” she said.
She also hit out at Modi over the Dalit vote.
“Narendra Modi said that Mamata has done nothing for the Matuas. I accept this challenge. If I am telling a lie, I will quit politics. And if you are lying then you will have to do squats holding your ears,” Banerjee said, referring to a anti-caste sect comprising largely of Dalit people.
The BJP condemned her remarks.
“She is hitting the streets against the ECI. Earlier ,she had taken to the streets against the Supreme Court and the laws passed in Parliament. Earlier, BJP leaders too have been barred from campaigning and censured. We never hit the streets. We never opposed the ECI,” said state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh.
“She knows defeat is imminent. People have decided to oust her. That is why she is making such wild allegations and targeting Modi and Shah,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, state BJP vice-president.
On Monday, ECI banned Banerjee for violating the model code of conduct and the 1951 Representation of the People Act with her speeches, prompting fierce protests by the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The allegations against Banerjee were that, on April 7, she appealed to Muslim voters to unite and not split their vote; and on April 8, she criticised central forces and urged women to surround them if they create disturbances.
“The commission hereby condemns such statements portent with serious law & order problems across the state(s) and sternly warns Ms. Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances…,” the order added.
