Jhalda/Balarampur (WB): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is still recuperating from the injuries she sustained last week in Nandigram, asserted on Monday that she would continue her fight against the BJP 'as long as her heart beats and vocal cords function'.
The TMC supremo, who addressed two rallies in Purulia during the day, also said that no conspiracy or injury can stop her from taking forward her battle against the saffron camp, while stressing that the BJP, despite bringing in leaders from Delhi, will cut no ice with the people of Bengal.
Banerjee, after filing her nomination in Nandigram on March 10, suffered severe injuries on her left leg, hips, arm, neck and shoulder during electioneering as she was allegedly pushed to the ground by miscreants.
TMC leaders have claimed that BJP men orchestrated the attack, a charge denied by the saffron camp. The Election Commission also ruled that she suffered injuries following an accident, and not an attack.
'Wait for a few days, my leg will get better. I will see whether your legs get to move freely on Bengal's soil,' the chief minister said at Jhalda, in a veiled attack on saffron camp leaders.
The feisty TMC boss further claimed that 'no other government in the world has done as much work for its people as her dispensation'.
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Launching a scathing attack on the Centre over the rise in fuel prices and disinvestment of public sector units, Banerjee said, 'Their (BJP's) prime minister cannot run the country, (he is) totally incompetent.' She further urged people not to cast their votes in favour of the Congress and the CPI(M), claiming that the two parties and the BJP are 'all brothers-in-arms'.
'On March 10, I sustained injuries on my body. Maybe, due to good fortune, I was saved. Some may have thought I will not be able to go out at all with my broken leg, but (for me) people's wellbeing is far more important than my own pain,' Banerjee insisted.
Taking potshots at the BJP for nominating MPs from several assembly seats in Bengal, the chief minister, during her second rally in Balarampur, said they have done nothing for the welfare of the state, and sought to know if they would be 'peddling lies and engineering riots' after the polls.
'Some of the 18 MPs nominated by the BJP have done nothing for the state. What they will do if they win the elections? Spread lies and engineer riots?' the CM, who addressed rallies sitting on a wheelchair, stated.
Mocking the BJP's 'rath yatra', Banerjee said that she has always known that chariots are taken out for Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings.
'Some BJP leaders are moving around in so-called 'rath', but we have always known that Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings travel in chariots. Are they (BJP leaders) bigger than God? she said.
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Hitting out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the cancellation of his first public meeting of the day at Jhargram, Banerjee, insinuating that the rally was called off due to lack of attendees, said, 'Had he requested, we would have sent some people to the venue.
Raking up the 'insider-outsider' debate, she asked the Purulia administration to seal the interstate border, claiming that she had information that some people are planning to enter the state to create disturbances.
'The interstate border along the Ayodhya Hills is yet to be sealed, and I urge the district administration and Election Commission to look into this. People are being sent to the state to loot votes (rig the election).
'I have learnt from credible sources that people from Jharkhand will be entering the state two days before the election begins, in accordance with instructions given by a few central ministers. I am talking to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren on this matter,' she contended.
Accusing the BJP of 'faking its love' for underprivileged classes, she said, 'During elections some of their leaders bring cooked items from top hotels and visit residences of people from backward sections to eat the food there, in a bid to show how rooted they are.
'In reality, they divide people, they practise untouchability. I share food with backward caste people at my home and eat on the same plate. We don't flaunt such things, but some pan-chewing BJP leaders from outside fake emotions and peddle lies,' she insisted The CM further cautioned that the saffron party, if voted to power, will seek residential documents of people's grandparents to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and update the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
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'The party want to drive away the residents of state.
The TMC, on the other hand, has ensured that eligible SC/ST community members get caste certificates,' she pointed out.
Alleging that the saffron camp was trying to buy votes 'with liquid cash,' the chief minister said, 'BJP leaders who starved (for food) in the past are now travelling in chartered planes. That has to be ill gotten money...' Slamming BJP leaders over their assertion that women feel unsafe in Bengal, she said, 'In (saffron party-ruled) Uttar Pradesh, women cannot venture out freely in several areas, and their fathers are attacked for speaking out against the atrocities perpetrated on them.' Announcing a slew of development projects in Purulia, she said, 'Investments worth Rs 64,000 crore will be made in this district in the near future. Also, efforts will be made to turn 25,000 acres (of barren land) fertile.'
PTI
