Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP for urging the Election Commission (EC) to declare Bengal as a super sensitive state during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and said that the saffron party leaders are insulting the state as she and her party are fighting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah. “What is the reason for declaring all the booths sensitive? Don’t you think it is a humiliation, an insult? Why is the BJP so sensitive about Bengal? Why are they so scared?” Banerjee told reporters here following a meeting with party candidates for the polls.
“Bengal is a very peaceful state. What are they insulting Bengal for? Is it because we are fighting the battle against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah? Is it because we are raising our voice against the BJP? Do they want to curb our voice?” she asked. Pointing towards a bunch of papers in her hand as government reports, the Trinamool Congress supremo said that most of the people who were killed in the recent elections in the state belonged to the Trinamool Congress.
She also said the claims made by senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, regarding severe lapse in the law and order situation in Bengal are “blatant lies.” “Let them declare all the people in Bengal as sensitive. Every year so many festivities take place here. Close to 60 lakh people come here during the Ganga Sagar Mela, crores come during Durga Puja every year, and not a single untoward incident has been recorded,” she said.
Banerjee also flayed the BJP for demanding a special Central observer to monitor the media in Bengal and said it is a shame that the ruling party is trying to curb the freedom of press. “They want to control the media also. It is a matter of shame. How can a party ask for a special observer to control the media? Have they lost their sense, their credibility?” she questioned.