Mamata Inaugurates Pujas in South Kolkata: ‘Don’t believe in revenge, otherwise my predecessors would have been in jail’
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said she doesn’t believe in politics of revenge otherwise she had enough grounds to send some of the leaders of the previous government to jail after coming to power in the state. Without naming the party, the Trinamool Congress chief also alleged that “a political party engages in only defaming Bengal in numerous ways”.
Launching the Puja edition of the Trinamool mouthpiece “Jago Bangla” in Kolkata, the chief minister also hit out at the central probe agencies, which are probing several corruption cases against some of the Trinamool ministers in the state. “There are various (central) agencies in Delhi like the Moon, Sun, planet and stars sitting on the heads… Let Maa Durga give everybody power to fight,” the chief minister added.
“Trinamool and Jago Bangla send everyone into a tizzy. We are all bad. They are the only good ones. At one point, I used to feel ashamed going to Delhi because a political party engages in only defaming Bengal in numerous ways. Be it a person or any political party, I get angry when anyone maligns or disrespect Bengal… The people of Bengal are not stoking these controversies. Outsiders have prepared this mentality using money, certain digital platforms, and social media networks. Those who engage in this work all day long should focus on Bengal’s activities and schemes to ensure that our growth reaches every person,” she said.
“Nowadays, everything becomes a controversy. Is this what our culture has been reduced to? Our Bengali culture and tradition teach us to walk with pride and our heads held high,” she said.
Hitting out at the opposition CPI(M) without taking its name, Banerjee said she doesn’t believe in the politics of revenge. “This is why we didn’t arrest anyone despite 34 years of corruption… We are not vindictive enough to send some of our predecessors to jail though there were enough grounds. Still, if they believe in speaking ill against us, all I can say is please carry on. We don’t care, we can only feel hurt,” she said.
Banerjee also slammed the CPI(M), saying that its mouthpiece Ganashakti took advertisements from corporates and also got government ads when the Left Front was in power. “CPI(M)’s Ganashakti had government advertisements on all its pages, and also had chit fund ads. Our paper (Jago Bangla) does not take a single penny of advertisement from the government… We do not take ads from corporates to run the paper like the Left. They don’t have any moral right to speak. We will continue to sustain without any ads,” she said.
The CPI(M) said that Banerjee was “frustrated” as she could find any misdeeds during the 34-year rule of the Left Front. “In comparison, everyone knows how one after another leader of her party are getting arrested on corruption charges, with crores of rupees being found with them,” CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.
BJP vice-president Dilip Ghosh said that Banerjee was “scared and nervous” as the “misdeeds” of her party are getting exposed.
Madan Mitra performs ‘tarpan’ of BJP leaders
On the occasion of Mahalaya, TMC MLA Madan Mitra on Sunday purportedly performed “tarpan” of BJP leaders Dilip Ghosh and Suvendu Adhikari by garlanding their photos after taking a dip in Ganga, saying he was mourning the “political death of BJP”.
“They (Suvendu and Dilip) should be healthy in their lives… I wish them good health, good family, and a long life. But let the political violence, terror end. That’s why the tarpan. It’s the tarpan for the political death of BJP,” the Kamarhati MLA said.
BJP leader Rahul Sinha hit back at the TMC leader. “He (Mitra) is now panicking because of the fear that his own political life is going to end… Having lost all sense of morality, Mitra is using a pious occasion like Mahalaya for political reasons,” Sinha said.