Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has accused BJP of colluding with the Election Commission (EC) to cancel her candidature from Bhabanipur seat in south Kolkata by trying to file false cases against her. The offer, however, was botched by TMC workers and the public, she alleged.
Banerjee, while addressing an election rally at Keshiyari in Paschim Medinipur district, accused the BJP of “forcibly” deleting the names of 90 lakh voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Review (SIR).
“The BJP, with the help of the EC, tried to invalidate my candidature from Bhabanipur by trying to file false cases against me, but we foiled their game plan,” said Banerjee, who is contesting against Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari to retain her seat, without elaborating.
She accused the BJP of “conspiracy to forcibly capture votes through fraudulent means as they lack the courage to fight and win elections democratically”.
“That is why they are erasing the names of the voters. They are also planning to tamper with the EVMs to turn the results in their favour,” she said.
Sooner or later, justice will be served after beating the BJP in the assembly polls and later ousting them from power in Delhi, the CM said.
“More than 250 people have died due to SIR exercise. Out of 90 lakh voters wiped out, 60 lakh are Hindus while 30 lakh are Muslims… Since we speak in Bengali, are we not Indians? Do we have to prove our citizenship again and again?” she said.
On the BJP’s promise to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in West Bengal if voted to power, Banerjee said that through the UCC, the saffron party wants to impose its diktat on the people.
“It will target backward communities and aim at taking away people’s democratic rights. We will not allow it to be implemented in West Bengal. We will remove it once the BJP is finally ousted from power in Delhi after our fourth consecutive victory in the state,” she added.
