Mamata Banerjee warns villagers near Bangladesh border about terrorists, asks them to keep vigil

“They bring a lot of money with them and will try to lure you into doing all sorts of illegal activities. They will pretend to be your friends and will cause a lot of harm. This is a bordering area which is why you need to be aware and keep a vigil. Only if you stay well, your area will and in turn your district will be fine,” Mamata said while addressing a public rally after an administrative meeting in the district which borders Bangladesh.

The chief minister, however, asked the villagers not to take law into their own hands and said, “Don’t take law in your hands. If you find any stranger in the area, ask for his or her identity card and then if need be, inform the police. To the police officials I must ask to take prompt and necessary actions against any such complaints.”

With an eye at the panchayat polls next year, Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a number of welfare projects and warned her party leaders of the area not to indulge in faction clashes. The chief minister also highlighted the social welfare schemes which the government has successfully implemented at the grass root level.

“Jayanta Naskar and Govinda Naskar (local Trinamool Congress leaders) should not fight between themselves and should sort out the differences. I don’t want to hear about any such problems between the two anymore,” she said.

The chief minister stated that she had also received a letter about lack of performance of the BDO. “Whenever I make a promise, I keep it and when someone doesn’t work according to my instructions I have to be rough and tough,” she added.

She said, “If you find your work is not being done after the deadline, drop a mail at my residence and I will take action. I assure you that I go through all the letters and try to find a solution to each as far as possible.”

Firing fresh salvos at BJP and the CPI (M), Mamata said that neither the BJP at the Centre nor the CPI(M) who were in power for 34 years ahead of the TMC rule, ever bothered about the well-being of the people here in this far-flung area of the state.

“Earlier when fishermen were lost in the seas they could not return. Now we have made arrangements for their identity cards so that once they are lost they can produce the cards, prove their identity and return home. Don’t fall prey to the instigations of BJP who only want to spark a riot and gain political mileage out of it,” the chief minister said.