Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister engaged in a war of words on Thursday over the issue of the Centre’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). While the former emphasised the significance of enacting such a law, the latter cautioned people to be wary of the controversial Act, which she claimed would strip citizenship from many.
Both the leaders addressed Lok Sabha poll rallies in West Bengal. The Prime Minister’s rally took place in Cooch Behar barely a couple of hours after the TMC supremo held an election rally at Mathabhabga town about 28 km away.
Attacking the partners of the INDIA for spreading canards against the CAA, the Prime Minister said the law had been introduced to offer citizenship to those who cherished, believed, admired and repose faith in the “ideals of Maa Bharti (Mother India)”.
Attacking the TMC for unleashing a reign of terror in Bengal where the women were at the receiving end and of which Sandeshkhali was a striking example, the Prime Minister with an apparent eye on the women voters said, “India saw with horror what happened with the women and poor at Sandeshkhali … the TMC tried its level best to shield and protect the culprits of Sandeshkhali … but it is my guarantee that they will never get away with whatever they have done … they will have to spend their entire lives in jail.”
Raising the issue of CAA — which has a good relevance in the northern part of the State -— the Chief Minister asked the people to handle the Act with care lest it sucked them into the vortex of National Citizenship Register making them liable to be thrown into detention camps.
“It is for the people to decide as to whether they will apply for citizenship through CAA … because this will make them vulnerable to NRC … I have said earlier that CAA is only the head and NRC is the tail … Once you register in it you concede that you are not the citizen of India and then you make yourself liable to be thrown into detention camps like it happened in Assam where the people are imprisoned in detention camps in their own country,” Mamata said.
Modi said a strong and stable Government, which would lead India to become the third strongest economy in the world, is what the Prime Minister offered to the people of India as he addressed a jam-packed election rally at Cooch Behar in North Bengal.
“It is important to make India — and along with it Bengal — the third strongest economy in the world and for that to happen the country needs a strong and stable Government and not a weak coalition,” the Prime Minister said listing his Government’s achievements in the past one decade.
“The people saw the Congress model for 6-7 decades after Independence and then they saw the BJP model which acted decisively to remove Article 370 from Kashmir and construction of the grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya which was overdue for the past 500 years,” Modi said reminding how “the world says Modi is a strong leader who takes strong decisions” and adding all those decisions he takes was for the 140 crore people of India whom he serves.
Once again vouching for his guarantees the Prime Minister said apart from making India a strong nation he would continue to fulfill his guarantees.
“Where the hope of others ends Modi’s guarantees begins … and Modi’s guarantees include free ration to people, 40 lakh pucca houses and toilets, health insurance under Ayushman Bharat scheme which enables the insured to get free treatment all over the country, taking electricity and water lines to every household,” Modi said insisting on his dream to create 3 crore Lakhpati Didis. Vowing to continue his crusade against corruption as a part of his guarantees, Modi said, “I have acted against corruption which is for everyone to see and will continue to come down on the corrupt people as a part of my strong resolve to bring about a corruption free India.”
Asking the people to bring the BJP back to power, the Prime Minister said whatever his Government had done in the past 10 years were “only trailers … as I will have to take India and along with Bengal far ahead in the path of development,” adding his Government was planning to arrange for easy people-to-people border trade with neighbouring Bangladesh.
Taking on the Left and the Congress for attacking the BJP in Bengal, the Prime Minister said “in Bengal they indulge in mock fights among themselves but in Delhi they hobnob with each other … so neither the TMC and the CPI(M), nor the Congress must be believed as they are all hands-in-gloves and have teamed up to defeat the BJP”.
The Prime Minister was campaigning for sitting Cooch Behar MP and junior Home Minister Nisith Pramanik and Alipurduar party candidate Manoj Tigga who is presently the BJP’s Chief Whip in Bengal Assembly.
Mamata poured as much venom as she could on the BJP telling the crowd why they should prefer even a cobra to the saffron party and calling upon the Election Commission of India to ensure a level playing field both for the rulers and the Opposition.
In a no-holds-barred attack on the BJP, Mamata told an election rally at Mathabhanga in Cooch Behar district of North Bengal how the powers that be in Delhi were destroying the nation.
“You can trust a poisonous cobra but you cannot trust the BJP for its is destroying the country,” Mamata said alleging how the saffron Government had been depriving the Bengal electorate of their rightful funds in order to teach the Trinamool Congress a lesson and how they were unleashing Central agencies to terrorise the Opposition.
“They are ruling by the agency in their bid to impose one-nation-one-party rule … there is law only for the opposition parties and not the BJP,” she said.
Raising the issue of Bengal’s deprivation by the Centre, she said, “Ever since they came to power in 2014 they started torturing Bengal and its people … They took away Rs 6.8 lakh crore as tax since 2019 but have withheld Rs 1.74 lakh crore of State’s funds … including MNREGA wages and funds for housing, roads and other infrastructure schemes … and when you raise your voice they will send central agencies at your home,” asking the ECI to take measures to stop unlawful use of agencies against the opposition leaders.
“I will request the ECI to see how the BJP has been indulging in hooliganism … I will request the ECI to see how ED, CBI, NIA, Income Tax and BSF are being used to harass and torment the Opposition and the common people if they do not vote for them … this is not a level playing field … So I will ask them to ensure that a democratic level playing field is given to all of us,” Mamata said.
In a veiled reference to an alleged understanding between the election panel and the saffron party, Mamata said “here it is so happening that the person who is marrying is acting as the priest,” asking “why only the officers of the State administration --- and not the central agencies --- would only be transferred … my question is how many officers of the NIA, CBI and I-T have been transferred… is it a level-playing field when all the central agencies are being used against the opposition during the elections”.
Stopping short of naming Modi, the Chief Minister alleged how the dreams of acchhe din were shown to the people before 2014.
“They promised Rs 15 lakh in your bank accounts and 2 crore jobs every year but I want to ask even if one person has received that money in his account…” she said, adding that how “the unemployment rate in the country has broken all the records and is highest of all times.”
Slamming the BJP Government for “forcing the use of Prime Minister’s picture on the ration bags and the advertisements of Prime Minister Awaas Yojna (housing scheme) Mamata said, “while the State gives 50 per cent of funds for PMAY the picture of the Prime Minister appears in the advertisements … Similarly they will give him the Prime Minister’s picture on the ration bags … why will I accept such pictures when the food grains are produced by me or purchased from my tax … I will starve than accept that ration.”
On rising inflation, she said how “they have reduced the gas price after increasing it to Rs 1,200 … this is all because of the elections … if they return to power they will again increase the price of gas and all other essential things … then what you will eat and how you will survive,” Mamata said asking the people to remain alert “against their plans to ignite riots in order to create a communal polarisation before the elections.”
Attacking Cooch Behar BJP nominee Nisith Pramanik who is also the junior Home Minister of the country, Mamata said the “person they have nominated from this place is named in a number of offences … it is a shame on the BJP and a blot on them that they have made an offender a junior Home Minister,” referring to how Pramanik and local TMC MLA and State Minister Udayan Guha had nearly come to blows during campaign a few days ago.
