West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the BJP might conduct the Lok Sabha polls in December itself, claiming that all choppers have been booked by the saffron party for campaigning.
Banerjee, who was speaking at a TMC youth wing rally, cautioned that a third term for the BJP would ensure the nation faces an “autocratic” rule.
“I am apprehensive that they (BJP) could hold the Lok Sabha elections in December 2023 itself, or in January… If the BJP returns to power for the third consecutive term, the nation would face an autocratic rule,” she said.
Banerjee claimed that the BJP has “already booked all choppers” to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls, so that no other political party can use those for canvassing. Other TMC members clarified that she meant helicopters appeared to have been booked throughout the country. “The saffron party has already turned our country into a nation in the throes of animosity among communities. If they return to power, it will make our country a nation of hatred,” she said. The general elections are due in 2024.
Banerjee also alleged that Governor C V Ananda Bose was violating constitutional norms, and that she does not support his “unconstitutional activities”. “Don’t take ‘panga’ (challenge) with an elected government,” the chief minister said, referring to Bose. The feisty TMC boss said she had ended the three-decade-long CPI(M) rule in Bengal, and will now defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Hitting out at ABVP and BJP activists who raised ‘goli maro’ slogans at Jadavpur University, Banerjee said she had instructed the police to arrest those involved in voicing hate slogans at the varsity. “Those raising such slogans should not forget this is Bengal; this is not Uttar Pradesh,” she asserted.
Reacting to Banerjee’s remarks over the general elections, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said the chief minister is an expert in keeping track of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“So when she is saying so, it might be that the RSS is thinking on those lines,” he said. Chakraborty said that Banerjee’s assertion could also be an attempt to mislead other political parties. “It will have to be seen what really happens,” he added.
Referring to raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in various parts of Bengal in connection with graft cases, the chief minister claimed that the central agency is planning “to arrest Abhishek Banerjee (TMC national general secretary) before the Lok Sabha polls”. “I received a message recently that they (ED) will arrest him before the elections. They have downloaded files on computers,” she said.
