Bengal CM Mamata Rakes Up Godhra Riots To Sharpen Attack Against BJP, Calls For March To Delhi

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee continued her attack on the BJP on Thursday, calling for a march to Delhi. She also raked up the Gujarat riots during a fiery speech during a protest in Kolkata.

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the protest site in Kolkata on Thursday.

Source : PTI

Continuing her efforts to form a platform for a united Opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee urged all political parties to join hands against the BJP. Addressing a sit-in protest along Kolkata's Red Road, Banerjee also raked up the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat.

"They say there is genocide in Bengal. Do they even understand the meaning of genocide? It happened in Godhra. It happened with Bilkis Bano and NRC/CAA. What happened in Delhi?" Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Her comments came amid an incident of violence in West Bengal's Howrah. Vehicles were torched as ruckus erupted during a Ram Navami procession in the district.

She also called for a protest march to Delhi (Dilli Chalo) to oust the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power, reported news agency PTI. She called for the protest march during an overnight sit-in demonstration in Kolkata. The demonstration is being held against what she perceives as discrimination by the central government against West Bengal and the BJP's alleged misuse of investigative agencies.

Banerjee said that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls would be a fight between the people of India and the ruling party. 

Banerjee had initiated the two-day protest on Wednesday to protest against the alleged stoppage of funds to the state for various schemes by the central government. She criticised the BJP for attempting to portray all opposition parties as corrupt and itself as a saint. She also accused the BJP of trying to destroy India's federal structure and withhold funds from states ruled by non-BJP parties.

On Wednesday, Banerjee sharpened her attack on the BJP over its alleged policy of giving clean chit to Opposition leaders who join the saffron party with a "washing machine" protest in Kolkata. Banerjee was seen putting in a black cloth into a model of a washing machine and pulling out a white cloth as her supporters shouted slogans of "washing machine BhaJaPa [BJP]".

This was a symbolic representation of the Opposition's claims of the BJP misusing central investigative agencies to intimidate their leaders into joining the saffron party using criminal complaints and later dropping the charges when they joined the BJP. The model was labelled as "BJP washing machine".

During her protest, Banerjee described the BJP as 'Dushasana' and 'Duryodhana,' two antagonists from the epic Mahabharata. She called on all political parties to unite against the BJP and remove it from power to save Indian democracy and the country's common people.

Banerjee's protest was attended by top Trinamool Congress leaders, such as Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas. Kolkata has been witnessing a flurry of political activity ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections, which have been approved by the Calcutta High Court for this summer. Rallies by Banerjee's nephew and TMC leader Abhishek, BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, and a march organised by the Left-Congress alliance have all taken place alongside Banerjee's sit-in protest.

Banerjee has been draped in a white cotton saree during her 30-hour sit-in protest, which is likely to end at 7 pm on Thursday. She has also been singing songs with party leaders during the protest. The chief minister hit out at state government employees demanding enhanced Dearness Allowance (DA), alleging that those who had received their jobs on the recommendation of Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders during the previous Left regime were trying to malign the state.

(With PTI inputs.)