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‘BJP govt should withdraw farm laws or quit’: Mamata Banerjee at West Midnapore rally
“The BJP government (at the Centre) should immediately withdraw the farm laws or step down. It should not continue to remain in power after sacrificing the rights of the farmers,” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Sharpening her attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the contentious farm laws passed in Parliament in September, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee said the party should either immediately withdraw the “anti-people” laws or quit.
Speaking at a rally in West Midnapore, the TMC chief asserted that she would rather stay in jail than “remain silent or put up with BJP’s misrule”, according to news agency PTI.
“The BJP government (at the Centre) should immediately withdraw the farm laws or step down (quit). It should not continue to remain in power after sacrificing the rights of the farmers,” she said.
The West Bengal CM further called the BJP a party of “outsiders” and said that people of the state would not allow them to take control. “Will never allow outsiders to take control of Bengal, people will resist such attempts,” she said.
The rally was Banerjee’s first in the district after party heavyweight Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the Cabinet in November-end. Though TMC leaders have said that the Adhikari issue is a closed chapter, the politician is still seen taking potshots at the leadership. Earlier, Banerjee had directed district and block level leaders from the adjacent district of East Midnapore, Adhikari’s hometown, to remain present in her West Midnapore rally. According to the people familiar with the developments, the CM had held meeting with some of the leaders in both the districts before addressing the rally.
“Banerjee sent out a strong signal to party rebels last week in a virtual organisational meeting with party leaders. We are all looking forward to Monday’s rally and what she has to say,” said a senior party leader on Sunday.
Adhikari was credited for the gains TMC made in the assembly constituencies of Kaliaganj in Uttar Dinajpur and Kharagpur in West Midnapore in the 2019 bypolls. Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly are likely to be held in April-May next year and Banerjee is planning to hold rallies with booth level leaders and workers of North Bengal next week.
(with PTI inputs)
