West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that the BJP-led Central Government is “unstable and will fall soon.”
Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, was in Kolkata to attend the Trinamool Congress’s Martyrs’ Day rally. Both the leaders said that the BJP-led Central Government’s days “are numbered.” Mamata Banerjee went a step further and accused BJP of forming the Government through “intimidation”
The Martyr’s Day rally was held in Kolkata’s Dharmatala area and was the biggest political event in Trinamool Congress’ annual calendar. It commemorates the death of 13 Youth Congress activists who died in police firing in 1993 while demanding voter ID cards under the leadership of the then Youth Congress leader Mamata Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee organises a rally every year to remember those killed.
Addressing the rally, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said: “Today is the day to remember the karyakartas”.
Targeting the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre, the SP chief said: “I said this earlier in Lok Sabha and I’m saying it again today that the Central Government is not going to survive. The Government will fall, and we will see that days of happiness will come for us.”
“The people of Bengal have fought with the BJP and defeated them. The same happened in Uttar Pradesh. The people sitting in the government in Delhi are in power only for a few days.
“Yeh Dilli ki sarkar kutch din ki mehman hain. Yeh sarkaar chalne wali nahi hai, woh sarkaar girne wali hai,” he further said.
During her speech, Banerjee commended Akhilesh Yadav for his party’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.
Lauding Yadav, Banerjee said: “ Thank you. I want to congratulate the Samajwadi Party. The game you played in Uttar Pradesh… BJP should have resigned, but it has no shame. You will have to wait a few days. I agree with you that the Government in Delhi, which was brought to power using central agencies and the Election Commission, is not stable. It may fall any day. Enough is enough.”
Banerjee, whose state shares border with Bangladesh, on Sunday, offered shelter to ‘helpless people’ from the neighbouring country, which has been witnessing violent student-led protests against reservations in its civil services. “We are extremely sad to see blood getting split and my heart goes out to the students who were killed,” the West Bengal CM said.
“I should not speak on the affairs of Bangladesh as it is a sovereign nation, and whatever needs to be said on the issue is the subject matter of the Centre. But I can tell you this, if helpless people come knocking on our doors, we will surely provide them shelter,” Banerjee declared.
“That’s because of a United Nations resolution to accommodate refugees in regions adjacent to those under turmoil,” the Trinamool supremo stated. Banerjee also assured her full cooperation to residents of West Bengal whose relatives are stuck in Bangladesh due to the escalating violence on the eastern side of the international border.
Assistance will also be extended to Bangladeshis who came to West Bengal and are facing difficulty in returning home, she added. The Chief Minister further urged people of her State to not get ‘provoked’ over matters regarding the current situation in Bangladesh.
“We must exercise restraint and not walk into any provocation or excitement on the issue,” she remarked and expressed solidarity with students and other demonstrators who are protesting for the abolition of the quota system.
Before arriving at the rally in the heart of Kolkata, Akhilesh Yadav met Mamata Banerjee at her residence in Kalighat.
In his speech, senior Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee targeted the BJP and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in NEET exams.
Addressing the rally, Banerjee said the BJP performed poorly in the Lok Sabha elections in the State because it “relied on central agencies and money power” for victory.
“A day after July 21, 2022, the Enforcement Directorate raided (former State Education Minister and Trinamool Secretary-General) Partha Chatterjee’s house and arrested him. We don’t shield a person who has made mistakes. We don’t tolerate injustice. But, if the Central agencies can raid Partha Chatterjee’s house and arrest him, why shouldn’t Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan be arrested for the NEET scam?” he asked.