A visibly angry Mamata Banerjee on Thursday tore into Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his government and the saffron ecosystem, peppering her speech with attacks ranging from the personal to the political, often bringing up the Sangh Parivar’s dubious past around the Partition.
Speaking at the special session of the Assembly, where the Trinamool Congress-led government sought to pass a motion condemning attacks on Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, the chief minister was interrupted continuously by the BJP lawmakers.
In her address televised live during the discussion on the motion, Mamata called Prime Minister Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah “chor (thief)” and accused the saffron regime of possessing a “colonial, dictatorial” mindset that sought to turn Bengal into a “colony”.
“They are anti-Bengali. They don’t want the people to listen to me, as their masks will come off if the people get to hear what I have to say.... Vote chor, gaddi chhor (Vote thieves, quit the seat of power),” said Mamata amid chaotic scenes in the House unprecedented in recent memory.
“(The BJP is) unparliamentary, undemocratic, illegal.... One, two, three, four, the BJP is the biggest chor. The biggest thieves who torture Bengalis, mislead and deceive the people. Modi chor. Amit Shah chor. BJP chor. A party of vote thieves. A party of torturers. A party of looters. We want poriborton (change), yes... in the country. Remove the BJP, save the country. We will reduce you to zero (in Bengal),” she added.
“They are the nation’s shame.... There will come a day when the people of Bengal will not want to see a single BJP representative here,” she said.
The Trinamool Congress chief said the BJP had no right to be in power at the Centre and it was only a matter of time before they collapsed.
“... Only a few more days. I had never seen such a shameless, worthless party. They actively practise discrimination..., do not respect democracy or its practices,” she said. “Those who hate Bengal are also anti-national.”
Mamata alleged that the BJP was deliberately trying to make people forget the role played by Bengal and Bengalis in the Renaissance, the freedom struggle and in nation-building after Independence.
She attacked the Sangh Parivar for its dubious role in the freedom struggle, blamed them for their contribution to the Partition and underscored their alleged collusion with the British Raj.
“They had no contribution to our freedom. Everyone knows what they were up to during the freedom struggle... what brought about the Partition. They try to stoke communalism and discrimination... traitors who thrive on lies.... You conspired with the British, had the nation partitioned, had the capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi,” said the chief minister.
“Where were they during the freedom struggle? They were doing dalali (acting as agents) for the British. They want to colonise Bengal again. We will never allow this,” added Mamata.
Mamata has been unrelenting for over two months in her attacks on the saffron regime over the alleged linguistic apartheid fuelled by its “Bengali-phobia”. With it, she has woven in the issue of the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls as “backdoor NRC” by an allegedly compromised poll panel, which she says is a “conspiracy to disenfranchise” the poor and the marginalised who she believes are unlikely BJP voters.
She also mocked Modi over India’s foreign policy under him.
“At times, he is falling at the feet of the US, sometimes at the feet of Russia, China and Israel. By doing this, he has sold off the country and its dignity.... How will they run the nation? They hate people and do politics of hatred and division...,” said Mamata.
“We do not (usually) attack Modiji, but you all do not know how to return the courtesy,” Mamata said.
“They have forgotten (Mahatma) Gandhiji. They have forgotten everything... because they are scared of all our freedom fighters,” she said. “They think they will lose their posts if people properly remember them. They do not have any other identity except the fact that they are Nathuram Godse’s party. The nation will never forgive you.” Nobody will forgive the killers of Gandhiji.”