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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday hit out at the BJP while campaigning in Bhabanipur constituency, asserting that Bengal is a "mini India" that she would never divide. She also predicted that TMC would cross the century mark again in the Assembly elections, and urged voters to keep photocopies of their voter slips against what she called a possible future National Register of Citizens (NRC) drive.
Banerjee is contesting from the Bhabanipur Assembly Constituency, which is scheduled to undergo polling on April 29. She also contested from the Nandigram assembly constituency during the first phase of the Assembly polls. Addressing the gathering here, the West Bengal CM said her government believed in inclusive development for all communities and listed a series of religious and educational institutions built under her tenure. "I don't divide Bengal like the BJP, and I believe that it is a mini India. We must all live together, and all the citizens of this area must get good facilities. We have built many temples. We cannot build mosques, but we have made burial grounds. A large temple is being built for our Jain community. St. Xavier's College, Bhawaripore Education Society College, we've made it a university and have even given land for it. We've established an ISKCON temple, a Jagannath Dham, and an Islamia Hospital," she said. Taking a swipe at the Centre over taxation, Banerjee said her government had not raised taxes while the BJP-led central government burdened people with GST. "We're not a tax corporation, not a taxman. We haven't raised taxes, but the central government puts taxes on everyone. They even levy GST, taking it all away. If you go to a clothing store or a saree shop, you'll see that the GST tax deducted doesn't go to the shopkeeper. It goes to the Government of India. We haven't raised taxes on drinking water. There's no load-shedding right now," she said. "You see how wonderful Kolkata has become. Kolkata is becoming a heritage city. We're working with UNESCO," she added. On the election results, Banerjee expressed confidence that TMC would sweep both phases, saying the BJP was rattled by the party's strong performance in the first phase. "We passed the century mark in the first phase, and we will cross another century mark in the upcoming phase of elections. The BJP was scared because of this. For this reason, they are now resorting to hooliganism by deploying the entire central force, changing all the OCs and DMs here," she said. Banerjee asked people to keep photocopies of their voter slips as a safeguard against a possible NRC exercise in the future. "I request you all to cast your votes, and please keep a photocopy of your voter slips with you, so that they can't implement the NRC someday. The BJP says women can't walk on the streets in Bengal. They say everything here is a 'jhuugi.' Even the poor have the right to live, and those who have money have earned it through hard work, and they, too, have the right to live," she said. As the campaigning is in its final 48 hours for the second phase, Kolkata remains on high alert, with the Election Commission increasing drone surveillance and paramilitary presence in the Bhabanipur-South Kolkata belt. Polling for Phase I of the Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm on Thursday, with West Bengal recording a significantly higher voter turnout of 91.78 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The high turnout figures underline an active electoral exercise as polling drew to a close amid tight security arrangements across constituencies. The polling for the second phase will begin on April 29, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. (ANI)
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