Kolkata, March 7 – The BJP alleged on Saturday that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's indefinite sit-in protest in Kolkata, which began on Friday afternoon, is another tactic to protect illegal immigrants on the state's voter list.
Although the Trinamool Congress leadership, led by the Chief Minister, started the sit-in protest on Friday afternoon at Esplanade East in central Kolkata, they have not indicated how long the protest will continue. However, considering the size of the protest site and the arrangements made there, it seems the protest will continue for some time.
"Yesterday, in the presence of Mamata Banerjee at Dharmatala, a play was staged to save illegal immigrants," claimed the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, in a statement issued through his official social media handle on Saturday morning.
In his statement, the LoP also pointed out the approach of the state's ruling party towards the victims of the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in the state when they approached the Chief Minister's sit-in protest demonstration site to voice their genuine demands regarding the school-job fiasco.
"But when the deprived assistant teachers of West Bengal went in front of that stage to protest for their just demands, instead of listening to them, they were told, 'You are doing this because of what the BJP says.' They were even sarcastically told about the posters in their hands, 'Go show these to Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.' Even the fourth pillar of democracy, the media, was labeled as the BJP's agents," claimed the LoP.
Referring to that incident, Adhikari also raised the question of whether the people of West Bengal had the right to air their legitimate demands.
"Is there not even a shred of right for anyone to protest? As soon as they protest, the protesters become agents of someone or the other. Will the voices of the deprived assistant teachers be suppressed like this year after year?" he questioned.
According to him, since the people of West Bengal are watching and understanding everything, they will give a fitting reply to the state's ruling party at the right time.
"To answer injustice and deprivation, they must say - 'We need a change, we want a BJP government'," he said.
