West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that without the support of Trinamool Congress (TMC), the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre will not have a free run in the upcoming Presidential election.
“Presidential elections will take place soon. Without our support, you (BJP) will not sail through. You should not forget that,” Banerjee said in the state Assembly after BJP MLAs walked out. The chief minister said BJP does not have half of the total legislators in the country and it might not be easy for the party to win the Presidential election.
Referring to the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the TMC supremo said, Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party had bagged 78 seats more than the previous election, and the BJP’s seat share decreased so it should not talk big.
In response, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition launched a scathing attack at Mamata Banerjee, the head of the ruling government, as he left the assembly on Wednesday.
He said, “I am challenging the Chief Minister. If you have the power, touch Suvendu Adhikari!” He alleged that the TMC had planned to disrupt the assembly session with the direct assistance of the Chief Minister. “What the central government has done in Kashmir, it needs to be done here,” Shuvendu said.
BJP MLAs walked out while Home Minister Mamata Banerjee was addressing the assembly on Wednesday.
On the opening day of the budget session in the Assembly, the Chief Minister scoffed at the BJP state leaders, saying, “They have no power to win in their own wards!”
“(Suvendu) Went to my home town to campaign during the election, lost there too. He will lose in his booth, he will lose in the ward, and lose in the same way as he lost in Nandigram,” she said while pointing towards Adhikari.
The state budget was presented by the state Home Minister and Chief Minister on Wednesday. Calling the state police as party slaves, Adhikari said, “The law of the ruler of Bengal is in force.”
The Leader of the Opposition alleged that the Chief Minister had personally attacked him. The Chief Minister is making all these remarks out of vengeance, and out of personal resentment, he added. He said, “We have walked out in protest of the Chief Minister’s lies and attempts to derail the House.”
With inputs from ANI.