A day after a BJP worker was killed during a protest march in Siliguri, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the saffron party of "killing people in its rallies" and sought to know if it was done for propaganda.
The BJP called a 12-hour bandh on Tuesday to protest the killing of party worker Ulen Roy and alleged police brutalities during their march a day ago to 'Uttarkanya', the branch state secretariat in North Bengal.
The Siliguri Police, however, claimed that the man suffered pellet wounds fired from a shotgun, which the force does not use.
"The BJP lies, kills people; it holds rallies and kills people. Are you doing it for publicity since there wasn't many people in the rally? The police do not use these... Did you kill a man with pellets for the sake of publicity, for propaganda?" Banerjee said at a public meeting.
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She claimed that the saffron camp indulges in "slander at the speed of a storm", while her government engages in development work for people at a similar speed.
Asserting that the TMC will not allow the sale of central government-owned coal mines, Banerjee said "coal mafias thrive under the saffron party".
"I had proposed that illegal (coal) factories be legalised by the Centre and the state jointly, so that people get employment. The Union government, however, did not respond," the CM stated.
Maintaining that she had salvaged the Chittaranjan Locomotive with fresh orders when she was the railway minister, she claimed that the BJP government at the Centre is planning to shut it down.
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"They will sell off railways, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), BSNL, coal, defence. They will snatch food from the mouths of workers and the farmers," she said.
The feisty TMC boss, whose party would be fighting for a third term in 2021 Assembly elections in April-May, claimed that the BJP makes tall promises before polls, only to forget about those later.
She underscored that her government is providing free ration to all amid the Covid-19 crisis.
"Unlike the BJP that gives 5 kg rice until Bihar polls, I have extended free ration till next June. Our government will remain in power and you will not have to worry about food, you will not have to pay for food grains, healthcare or education," she said.
Maintaining that the BJP brings "goondas" from outside during the elections, Banerjee said the saffron party has roped in numerous people, who are now going from one door to another to carry out a divisive campaign.
The BJP is talking about NPR and NRC, but the TMC will not allow the people of Bengal to suffer, she contended.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya recently said his party has decided that work for providing citizenship to refugees from Bangladesh will commence from January or February, in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act.
"Anyone residing in the state, no matter what his religion or language, belongs to Bengal. We will not allow any attempt to turn our state into Gujarat," Banerjee said.
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Asserting that West Bengal will be turned into another Gujarat through development, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh recently said, "When people here have great respect for Mahatma Gandhi and some even indulge in politics with his photo hung around their necks, how can the prime minister, who is also from Gujarat, be an outsider."
