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Journalism of Courage
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said if the BJP lost the Uttar Pradesh elections it would meet the same fate across India.
“We never ask anyone their religion or their place of birth because we are all Indians…If the BJP is wiped out from here, it will be gone from the country too. UP is the biggest state. You need to choose whether you will vote for the BJP’s lies or you will take everyone along and move ahead,” Banerjee said at a press conference at the Samajwadi Party (SP) headquarters here, with the party’s president Akhilesh Yadav by her side.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson added, “I would like to thank Akhilesh for bringing me here, and giving me a chance to form a relationship with the people of UP. They are not allowing rallies, but BJP is doing rallies. But we can’t. If Akhilesh and I had done a rally here, more than a crore people would have come. Because of this fear, the rallies are not allowed. But we will follow the guidelines by Election Commission because that is what a democracy is all about.”
Banerjee said she would campaign for the SP in Varanasi on February 15. “If the country has to be saved, then you must support my brother Akhilesh Yadav,” she added.
Asked about the BJP manifesto, the TMC chief said, “Why haven’t you done things so far? You have been in power in Delhi for so long and in UP too. Why are you making promises now?… First apologise and then seek votes. What happened in Hathras and Unnao? Apologise. How many were killed in NRC? Bodies were found in the Ganga. Bodies were found in Malda in Bengal which came from UP.”
