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UP polls: Mamata and Akhilesh launch joint attack on BJP from PM Modi’s turf
Uttar Pradesh assembly election 2022: TMC chief Mamata Banerjee accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being busy with elections in Uttar Pradesh while several Indians were stranded in war-hit Ukraine.
Campaigning for the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its allies in Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Prime Minister of being busy with elections in Uttar Pradesh while several Indians were stranded in war-hit Ukraine.
Banerjee also wondered why were Indian students not brought back earlier when the Centre was aware of the heightened tensions in Ukraine.
“There is war in Ukraine and PM Modi is holding public meetings in Uttar Pradesh. What is important? It is important to bring back the Indian students stranded in Ukraine. If you have such good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, three months ago you would have known that the war is about to take place. Then why didn’t you bring back all the Indians stranded in Ukraine?” she said during a rally in Airhe town of Varanasi district.
“Today, you are saying that come on your own. Some Indians are sleeping in bunkers, and some of them are not getting food and water there,” she added.
The Bengal chief minister’s remarks came even as the Centre stepped up efforts to evacuate Indian students stranded in the war-hit zone.
India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine’s western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive. The civil aviation ministry, during the day, said more than 7,400 Indians are expected to be brought back to India from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries on special flights in the next two days.
In a rally at Sonbhadra on Wednesday, Modi said the government will leave no stone unturned to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.
Continuing her attack, Banerjee said: “If the government was aware of the facts, why did not it bring back students earlier? This is a fault and negligence… Humanity is more important than politics, and the central government should realise this. Lives of students are more important than politics.”
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his allies, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) president Krishna Patel also attended the rally.
Polling in Varanasi is scheduled to be held in the final phase on March 7. The results will be declared on March 10.
Referring to Yadav as “son of all”, the TMC president urged voters in Uttar Pradesh to oust the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and ensure the victory of the SP-led alliance in the ongoing polls.
Accusing the BJP of committing “several sins”, Banerjee alleged that several corpses which were found floating in river Ganga during the second wave of Covid pandemic had floated downstream from Uttar Pradesh.
“These people didn’t give kafan (shroud) to the bodies, nor did they perform the last rites.
When I came to know about this, the Bengal government cremated the bodies with full respect,” she said.
Describing herself as a “fighter”, Banerjee alleged that she was attacked by BJP workers after she arrived to campaign in the state.
“I went to the sacred ghats of Banaras on Wednesday. I felt very good. When I was on the way to the ghat, some BJP workers, who have nothing in their mind, except hooliganism, stopped my car… they hit my car with a cane. They pushed my car. They told me to go back. Then I thought these people were gone (lost the election). It has become certain that they are losing the election,” she said.
Yadav also addressed the crowd, saying that with Banerjee’s arrival, it was certain that the BJP would lose this election.
“When votes are cast in the seventh phase (March 7), the BJP will be wiped out. The people of Purvanchal will not forgive the BJP but will throw it out of power. People have made up their mind to form the SP government,” he said, adding, “we will do unprecedented development of Purvanchal (east UP).”
Banerjee had exclusively campaigned for the SP and addressed a joint press conference with Yadav in Lucknow on February 8.
The Bengal chief minister’s plan to get involved in the Uttar Pradesh elections for the SP also comes in the backdrop of TMC’s growing tension with the Congress (after TMC poached several lawmakers and senior leaders and attacked the Congress in the last few months) and her ambition of bringing together opposition parties for a united battle against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next national election.
Countering the allegations, UP BJP spokesperson Harish Srivastava said: “Didi should know better. Ever since the crisis started the PM has been in touch with leaders of Russia and Ukraine’s neighbours. Everyone has been helping our students. At least on issues like these Opposition should stop doing politics and speak in one voice. As for PM Modi, India is blessed to have a leader who has kept the country’s head high.”
