Kolkata: Upset over Nitish Kumar joining hands with the BJP, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday defended her previous visits to Bihar by saying it was not to appease her Bihar counterpart but for the love of Bihar.
While addressing a huge rally under the banner of 'BJP bhagao, desh bachao', called by the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, she said, "In the upcoming elections, people of Bihar will boycott Nitish-BJP government. In the past, I came to Bihar twice for the swearing-in ceremony. It was not for Nitish Kumar but for the love of Bihar."
"We express our sympathies for the people of Bihar suffering from floods. Even Bengal is experiencing floods. We are all suffering...Tamil Nadu is being intimidated. Bengal is being intimidated. India is under threat," she said.
This is for the first time when Mamata has spoken against Nitish after her counterpart broke alliance with RJD and formed the government in alliance with the BJP in Bihar.
She said, “We are not afraid. We are ready to fight. We cannot be intimidated. Fight us if you can. We will give our lives but never compromise with principles. People will vote the current government out over notebandi (Demonetisation)”.
Hitting out at the Centre, she said, "This is a 'Government of the agencies, for the agencies and by the agencies' at Centre. Send us to jail if you can. Let us see how many leaders you can send to jail. You will not have enough space to accommodate us all."
While questioning the 'achhe din (good days)', she said, "Almost three years have passed by but we haven't seen any 'achhe din'. Where is achhe din? There is a rise in unemployment. Minorities, Dalits and weaker sections are living under fear and farmers are dying in large numbers. The safety of women has become a big challenge."
Accusing RSS and the BJP for instigating riots for political benefits, she said, "I do not need any certificate of Hinduism from them. It is unfortunate that they failed to handle the situation at Panchkula (riots broke out after Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in rape case). Whenever such incidents happen in BJP ruled states Army takes no time in controlling the situation but non-BJP states do not get any help."
"We are ready to sacrifice ourselves but we will not allow the disintegration of our country. This is just the beginning and I am sure people of India will soon oust BJP from power," Mamata said.
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