Mamata says will take fight to Capital: ‘Aur ek dafa Delhi chalo’

“They (BJP government) are destroying the federal structure. They are depriving all the non-BJP states. They are robbing us of our GST money. They are stopping the 100-day (MGNREGA) work money,” she added.

Sharpening her attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a day after she sought a joint Opposition fight against the BJP, Mamata Banerjee said: “We know how to organise a movement. In the coming Lok Sabha election,  it will be “Nandalal” versus all the people of the country. In the coming election, all the Opposition parties should be united and all people should be united. You (BJP) have to go… You bulldozed and demolished our Constitution. You apply your law. We will apply the citizen’s law.”

The chief minister said that she used all the avenues to get the state’s dues, but the Central government did not give anything. “I showed courtesy, went to Prime Minister and urged for the dues, sent letters to the Centre, sent ministers to Delhi. But they did not give anything,” she said as she lashed out at the BJP for allegedly “hiring” protesters to show her black flags during one of her foreign tours.

“The BJP paid them in dollars and claimed genocide took place in Bengal… They say there was a genocide in Bengal. Do you understand the meaning of genocide? It happened in Godhra (Gujarat). It happened with Bilkis (Bano) and it happened with NRC and CAA. What happened in Delhi,” Mamata said referring to the Delhi riots of 2020.

Accusing the BJP government at the Centre of targeting the Opposition parties through probe agencies, she said: “The BJP is behaving like a feudal landlord. If someone says something against BJP, they send them to jail. If someone says something against BJP, they throw them out of the house. If someone says something against BJP, they send ED and CBI after them. What an honest party they are! Not only in India, but even BBC is also saying it.”

“We are with the country. We are not inclined to listen to anything against our country,” the Trinamool supremo said.

“They are calling us anti-nationals. Only they are nationalists and we are not patriotic? That’s what they think. But we will fight it out,” she said.

During the 30-hour sit-in demonstration that concluded on Thursday at 7 pm, the TMC chief gave speech three times. In her every speech, she highlighted the importance of Opposition unity in the coming Lok Sabha election, indicating a shift of stance as she had earlier said that she would not form any alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“I urge every political party in India to unite to oust this Dushasan BJP government. This Duryodhan BJP should be removed from power to save the country’s common man as well as Indian democracy,” she said.

The TMC chief also hit out at a section of state government employees, who have been demanding enhanced Dearness Allowance (DA) on par with that of the Centre, alleging that those who had got jobs on recommendations of CPI (M) leaders during the Left regime are trying to malign the state. “The ones who got everything from West Bengal, are now protesting against the state government. I have asked officials to look for their recruitment files. They are taking public money and are busy agitating,” she said.