West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah and stated that instead of protecting Indian constitution, Shah is "conspiring to topple my government," news agency PTI reported. This came after Amit Shah on Friday claimed that  if the BJP gets 35 seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 then the TMC government will not survive in West Bengal beyond 2025. 


In response to Shah's claim, West Bengal CM stated: "How can he (Amit Shah) say this as the Union home minister? This means that the home minister is conspiring to bring down an elected state government. As a Union home minister, he has taken the oath to protect the Indian constitution. So, he can never say that if BJP gets 35 seats in Lok Sabha elections, the current state government will collapse before the end of its tenure. So, we are demanding his resignation as the Union home minister," news agency IANS reported. 






Earlier on Friday, while speaking at 'Jan Sampark Samavesh' rally in Birbhum, Amit Shah had stated: "The only way to remove the crime of 'Didi-Bhatija' is BJP. The only way to free Bengal off terror is BJP. The only way to stop infiltration in Bengal is BJP...Give us 35 seats in 2024, there will be no need for 2025 (West Bengal poll); before 2025 Mamata didi's govt will collapse." 


Banerjee further attacked BJP and stated that whenever the elections are due, the saffron party makes comments that further polarise the communities, adding "if we unite, BJP will lose 2024 elections."






The Bengal chief minister also denounced the assassination of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. "Encounters have become a normal thing for the people of Uttar Pradesh. People of UP should protest against these encounters. If anything happens in West Bengal, they (BJP) send central agencies. BJP is double engine…double standard," she said, ANI reported.






She further claimed that the Centre has targeted specific parts of the state in order to "implement NRC and CAA in a roundabout way" under the pretext of identifying illegal Aadhar cards, and vowed that she will not carry out any such order in Bengal.


(With Inputs From Agencies)