Mamata Banerjee launched her Lok Sabha poll campaign on Friday with a diatribe against Narendra Modi, declaring him “unfit” to govern and calling for a “people’s” and “United India” government after the elections.

The Trinamul chief led a march in central Calcutta to commemorate the International Women’s Day, at the end of which she kicked off her campaign with an address, like she had done ahead of the 2014 general election and the 2016 Assembly polls.

The Bengal chief minister addressed a number of issues in her 10-minute speech, excerpts from which follow.

“Stolen” files

The chief minister continued from where she had left off on Thursday, lambasting the Centre over the alleged theft of Rafale documents from the defence ministry.

“I wonder how they can claim to protect this country when they cannot even protect files in the Union ministry of defence. They have said the Rafale files were stolen. You have stolen from the whole nation, nothing remains,” she said. Trinamul sources said Mamata plans to make Rafale a major plank.

Graft

Mamata, who has repeatedly accused the BJP of corruption and questioned Modi’s personal probity, asserted the people would get to know about the “plunder” once “you are thrown out of power”.

“The people will get to know how the reserves and public money have been looted. Such is the condition that Reserve Bank governors, CBI directors….everyone has to resign. You have destroyed all institutions.”

“You have stolen everything from this country to use it to fund your own party. From where is your party getting so much money…? Only publicity and bikes as gifts for their cadres. Hundreds and thousands of crores,” she added.

Terrorism

Mamata brought up the Pulwama attack to question the Centre over alleged intelligence failure. She dismissed Modi’s claim, made during demonetisation, that the note ban would help curb terrorism.

“After five years, after the expiry date, they say they will fight terrorism…. Modi had said terrorism would be destroyed after demonetisation. Instead, there has been a 260 per cent rise in terrorism…. Why did terror attack after terror attack….Uri, Pathankot, Pulwama….take place despite intelligence reports?” she asked.

“Now that elections are here, the Centre is trying to create a war hysteria in a desperate bid to win…. A new government will bring to an end terror attacks.”

Jammu and Kashmir

The Trinamul chief said the new government would be able to restore peace in Jammu and Kashmir. “This government could not do anything to restore peace in Kashmir. The new government, the people’s government, the United India government will bring peace to Kashmir”.

Safety

Mamata underscored the alleged lack of safety for women in the country and contrasted it with the conditions in Bengal, to accuse the BJP of making the nation unfit for vast multitudes. “Nobody is safe now in this country. Women, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, farmers, nobody…lynching syndicates thrive…. You could not feed the hungry, instead people all around us got lynched.”

Unemployment

The Trinamul chief criticised the Modi government not only over the state of the economy but also accused it of not fulfilling promises of creating jobs. “Not only did they fail to generate the promised employment, in the fallout of demonetisation alone, over two crore people rendered jobless.”

Renaming spree

Mamata slammed alleged attempts by the saffron camp to change history and names of places under BJP rule. “They spend so much time and energy changing names and tweaking history. This country’s history is being distorted and the geography is being altered under Modi.”