West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched her rural poll campaign in Cooch Behar, North Bengal, on Monday, highlighting a strong message: a victory for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the upcoming panchayat elections would mark the end of corruption.
“There are people who take money (bribes) for implementing state government schemes. If TMC is given the panchayat then such things will end. Even then if anyone does something wrong send me their picture. Strict action will be taken against them,” said Mamata.
Talking about TMC’s public outreach programme conducted by its national secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the TMC supremo said, “Earlier we didn’t give much focus to rural polls. But now people have seen how Abhishek and the party’s youth wing had gone and spoken with people and selected the candidates. One per cent of people who didn’t get tickets are now vocal as they didn’t get tickets for corruption.”
Mamata slams BJP over funds
Taking a potshot at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government and its slogan ‘double engine government’, Mamata added that the BJP government doesn’t pay money to Bengal and also TMC will ‘fight’ to get the frozen money from the Central government.
“I have even heard that BSF is intimidating people in the run-up to the rural polls. A couple of days back BSF had opened fire and killed some people. They have even killed people in Sitalkuchi. If TMC gets votes in three-tier panchayats then people will get protection,” further added the West Bengal Chief Minister.
Senior CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “Several TMC MLAs had cried foul within the party over the corruption issue.”
Congress questions Mamata
Calling Mamata’s stand against BJP ‘dubious’, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury added, “Everyone knows who is behind the growth of BJP in West Bengal. We all know who was the cabinet minister during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime.”
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, however, said that TMC will soon collapse like a pack of cards.
