Mamata Vows to Fight On Until BJP Is 'Forced Into Obscurity'

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would not take political 'sanyas' (retirement) and would continue her fight against the BJP, asserting that she would not stop until the party was forced into obscurity. In a Facebook Live session, she also said people of the state had understood the true face of the BJP within four months of the change in the government.

Allegations Over Census and Annapurna Bhandar

Banerjee alleged that the Census exercise was another backdoor attempt to enforce the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that it was implemented without consulting political parties. She also said people must exercise caution before signing Census forms and sharing personal data, warning that it may result in personal savings getting wiped off.

Amid women's protests in different parts of the state over the alleged delay in disbursement of funds under the Annapurna Bhandar financial aid scheme for women, Banerjee said the state's BJP government was slashing the number of beneficiaries on the pretext of ineligibility.

"We had launched Lakshmir Bhandar to make women financially self-sufficient but the BJP is considering religion and race to provide Annapurna Bhandar money. It is violating its pre-poll promise of providing Annapurna Yojana money to all women, and is now cheating them," the former chief minister alleged.

Jadavpur University Violence and Electoral Rolls

Amid clashes between ABVP and Left students at Jadavpur University, she accused the BJP of orchestrating vandalism on the campus and asserted that "despite our differences of opinion with some students there, we respect them".

On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, she alleged that the exercise illegally deleted lakhs of genuine voters and she would move the Supreme Court again, if required, for their inclusion in the voter list.

Additional Allegations

In her address, Banerjee also alleged that police are filing cases against TMC workers and that the SP is acting like a district president while the IC is acting like a block president (of the BJP). She said cases have been filed against 12,000 to 14,000 people (TMC workers).

She further alleged that the JU emblem was trampled and destroyed during the unrest, and alleged widespread intimidation of citizens by the BJP. Banerjee said the BJP has started the politics of bulldozers with regard to the forceful eviction of hawkers by the Suvendu Adhikari dispensation.

"Now, it is not the BJP's honeymoon period, it is their money-moon phase," she said, adding that "The BJP won the election through looting."