Kolkata, March 29 – Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the BJP's "chargesheet" against her government on Sunday and asked it to first publish a "chargesheet against the Central government".
Addressing an election rally in Manbazar in Purulia district, Chief Minister Banerjee, without naming Home Minister Shah, said, "Yesterday, a prominent leader of the BJP released a chargesheet against the Trinamool party. I say: first, release a chargesheet against yourselves, and provide an account of how many people you have killed through riots. Where were you when Gujaratis were brought to Delhi from America in handcuffs and transported by plane? It seems you have nothing better to do than engage in idle mischief. You do not listen to the people; your sole agenda is to remove people's names from the electoral rolls. Rioters, autocrats, destroyers of democracy – let no one cast a vote for them."
On Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a press conference in Kolkata, submitted a 35-page chargesheet against the Trinamool Congress government, criticising it over the issues of law and order, infiltration, and corruption. He said the election was not merely a battle for the state, but for the country's security.
Responding to Home Minister Shah's remark about her, the Chief Minister said, "Apparently, before elections, I go around wearing a bandage. I have returned from the jaws of death time and again. Go to the hospital and check the medical records. During the last election, it was your people who deliberately injured my leg. Are you planning to attack me again? A plan is usually hatched before attempting to assassinate someone's character. Is that what is happening here?"
Amit Shah, on Saturday, accused the Chief Minister of playing imaginary victim cards before any election. "As soon as the elections come, Mamata Banerjee either breaks her leg or falls ill. She seeks people's sympathy by showing some illness or other. But that ploy will not work out this time," he said.
Reacting to such remarks, Chief Minister Banerjee targeted him by saying, "During the 2021 (Assembly) elections, you deliberately inflicted an injury upon my leg. Yet, I campaigned in a wheelchair. This is not merely character assassination. It is a conspiracy to kill me. But you know the saying: 'If Krishna protects, who can harm?' Perpetrators always leave behind traces of their crime."
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Banerjee asked people to consider her as the candidate for the Assembly polls. "You need not look at who the candidate is; I am the candidate. Place your trust in me and cast your vote. The Trinamool will form the government. No matter how many conspiracies you hatch, they will all come to nothing. Let unrest never return to the Jangalmahal region again."