Mamata Banerjee on Thursday drew a parallel between Sita’s agnipariksha and forcible cremation of a Dalit girl who had allegedly been gang-raped in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh as the Bengal chief minister questioned the saffron camp’s track record in the protection of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Mamata pulled no punches in the offensive she mounted on the BJP over the Hathras incident — now an issue with pan-India resonance — in an apparent bid to erode the saffron camp’s credibility as a claimant to the Bengal throne.
“Sita-ma had to go through an agnipariksha and now in UP, a girl was raped and after she died, her body was set on fire. We are surprised to see the ill-governance in the state, where no proper investigation was done,” Mamata said at a public meeting in Purba Dhantala near Siliguri.
Mamata’s repeated assertions on law and order, said sources in her party, were in view of a key poll plank of the BJP for Bengal, where it promises to ensure a “return” of the rule of law by ending her alleged reign of lawlessness and terror.
“In our state, (in cases of crimes against women) we have taken steps within 72 hours of the crime,” Mamata said.
There were indications at the start of the day that Mamata would come out all guns blazing on the issue as she tweeted a statement of condemnation in the morning.
“Have no words to condemn the barbaric & shameful incident at Hathras involving a young Dalit girl. My deepest condolences to the family. More shameful is the forceful cremation without the family’s presence or consent, exposing those who use slogans & lofty promises for votes,” she wrote on the microblogging site.
Seeking to mock a 2018 exercise by the BJP where leaders dined at homes of Dalits and tribal people to garner support, Mamata said Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were among those facing the most torture in the country.
“Ahead of the elections, they (BJP) pretend to be sympathetic towards Dalits, adivasis and minorities. They bring food from outside and dine with Dalits, which is nothing but a political stunt. But after the elections, it is the Dalits who are being tortured,” said Mamata.
She brought up some unfulfilled promises of the BJP, made for north Bengal.
“They had promised to reopen seven tea gardens in north Bengal and had made lengthy assurances to the Rajbanshis ahead of the elections. None of those has been fulfilled. This is because they only make false promises and ahead of the elections, they will come up with such promises again. We do not make any fake commitments and I feel that those who could not keep their words should stay away from politics,” said Mamata.
In the Lok Sabha elections last year, the BJP had managed to bag the support of a considerable portion of the tea garden population and the Rajbanshi community, which helped the party win seven of the eight north Bengal seats.
In north Bengal, there are at least 30 Assembly seats where support of these people decide the results.
“Her high-pitched verbal attack on the BJP indicates that in her head, the campaign for 2021 has been launched,” said an observer.
