Citizenship amendment bill: Centre will have to withdraw citizenship Bill, says Mamata Banerjee

Reacting to remarks made by the prime minister and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in separate rallies in the state the same day, the Trinamool Congress chief said the two of them should worry about winning their own Lok Sabha seats before dreaming of victory in West Bengal. She also referred to Modi as the “leader of all thieves”.

“His time is up as his expiry date is out. In the last five years, he has used agencies against Opposition parties, killed farmers, created riots in the name of cow protection, provided no jobs to youths, killed police officers, destroyed the economy with note ban and tried to silence the people. He lacks the courtesy to respect the Prime Minister’s chair. He is arrogant and is not ready to accept that he will have to leave the chair. Those who have bloods on their hands for creating riots in Gujarat cannot lecture others on democracy. He is the leader of all thieves,” she said.

Mamata also alleged that BJP leaders were “outsiders” and had no idea about the culture and heritage of West Bengal. “They (BJP) have no leaders in West Bengal… They are outsiders who will come before the elections and then go back. They have no connection with the people of West Bengal… Ask Narendra Modi to look after New Delhi. Will Modi be able to win from Varanasi? He must think about his own seat. Ask Yogi Adityanath to look after his own state (Uttar Pradesh),” she said.

The chief minister said the state government has no compulsion to give permission for BJP chief Amit Shah’s helicopter to land, as he was a political leader and not a minister. “The Prime Minister landed his chopper today, there was no problem. How can we give permission to land helicopters of the BJP president…who is not a minister but a political leader? They can build their own helipads. The state government has no compulsion to grant permission,” she said. The TMC chief reiterated that BJP will get zero seats from Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls.
In his speech at the event organised by the Matua community, Modi had praised the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying it would bring “justice and respectability” to those who faced religious persecution.

“India got Independence after splitting it into pieces. People thought they can make a living in the country of their choice, but there they faced atrocities and torture because of communal malice…Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Parsis… It was because of this that we brought the Citizenship Bill. These people have no place to go other than India. Should they not be given justice and respectability?” he said. WITH PTI