Hyderabad: Bolstered by the spectacular win in the recently concluded Assembly elections forming the third consecutive government in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today set the tone for the 2024 general elections by giving a call for forging a non-BJP front at the Centre.
Calling upon all political parties including the Samajwadi Party, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Akali Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and others to constitute a united front against the BJP in the coming days, she said “I will be in Delhi on July 27, 28 and 29 and I hope to meet leaders of all political parties as the Parliament is in session. We have to save this country from the BJP and their ploy of spying on people. Nobody is safe during these peculiar times. There is a sense of overall suspicion due to this Pegasus issue. It is a scandal. We have to be united and fight against this. We have to start for 2024 from today itself. There is no time to waste.”
Mamata was virtually addressing her party’s signature July 21 martyr’s day rally from Kolkata, which was streamed live in several cities of the country like New Delhi and Lucknow. Senior political leaders including P Chidambaram, Digvijay Singh, Sharad Yadav, Manoj Jha, Supriya Sule, Jaya Bacchan, Ram Gopal Yadav, Keshav Rao, were present at the Constitution Club of Delhi along with Trinamool Congress MPs, where Mamata Banerjee’s speech was streamed live.
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Castigating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mamata said, “BJP is nothing but a high loaded virus party. This is a party where their chief minister Yogi Adityanath deliberately removes the chapter on Rabindranath Tagore from the school curriculum in Uttar Pradesh. They only know two things. spying and bulldozing. The people of Bengal have shown them the door and given them a befitting reply. Mr Prime Minister should understand that work can be done through proactiveness and love, not by delivering speeches on Maan Ki Baat. They should understand that there was a monumental failure in handling the Covid crisis.”
Urging the Supreme Court to take suo-motu cognisance of the Pegasus issue, Mamata Banerjee said a special investigating team should be created to probe the nature of snooping and who all were subjected to the breach. “This is a very serious matter and I believe that the investigation should be closely monitored by the apex court because people have faith in the judiciary,” she said while showing sticking plasters taped on her mobile phone’s rear camera. “I have taped my phone's camera. I know they have used my phone, Abhishek Banerjee’s phone as well as Prashant Kishor’s phone as listening devices and snooped on us. But, this is the most I can do in protest,” she added.
Returning back to her trademark diatribe against the BJP, Mamata said, “Khela Hobe (the game is on) was our slogan during the polls. Now it is time to make sure the same game is played during the next three years till we can uproot this BJP from the Centre. They have no regard for the living or the dead. In utter disregard of humanity, they let Covid infected bodies float on the Ganges. It is left to downstream states like Bengal and Bihar to collect those bodies and arrange for proper cremation. The BJP has lost all moral grounds to be in power. They have ruined the country’s economy as well as the social fabric. There is now no time for personal interests and goals. Leaving aside our self-interests, we should work together to restore the country’s federal structure.”
The West Bengal Chief Minister declared August 16 as Khela Hobe Divas to be observed in the state and urged her leaders to accept all newcomers in the party with open arms.
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