"If you want to protect the freedom of country then...": CM Mamata Banerjee
Cooch Behar: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged voters to remove the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha polls to protect the country's independence, adding that if the BJP wins that there will be no elections.
"I am clearly saying, remember, this election is not an ordinary election, all of India has understood today, you also understand, if you want to protect the freedom of the country, then remove BJP, save the country, remember, otherwise there will be no freedom in the country," she said at a rally in Cooch Behar.
She criticized the One Nation, One Election concept, stating that if this concept is implemented, there will be no more elections, and everything that Prime Minister Narendra Modi says will be implemented.
"One Nation, One Election means there will be no more elections in the country, the federal structure will cease to exist, there will be no states, and there will be no elections in the country... One leader, one nation, one leader, one speech, one leader, one food, whatever he (PM Modi) says will happen," she said.
Banerjee warns the minority community against engaging in riots, accusing the BJP of planning to incite violence to suppress voting in the state.
"As soon as the elections come, there is a very critical situation in the country, ...they will do something to divert your minds. I say another thing, they can also riot, they are ready to riot, please do not go to riot even if they abuse you. I will also tell my minority brothers and sisters, if you see them sloganeering on the 17th, that is their day of the riot, I think it should be a day of respect for humans, even if they abuse, keep your head cool and pray in the name of Allah.. We have to protect the peace, they (BJP) want to riot and send NIA so that voting cannot take place," she said.
Polling in the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal will be held on April 19, April 26, May 4, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4.
In most of the constituencies in the state, the main fight is between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the principal opposition in the state, the BJP.
Though the TMC is part of the INDIA bloc, it does not have a seat-sharing arrangement with the other parties in the alliance, like Congress and the Left parties in the state.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC won 34 seats in the state, while the BJP had to settle for just 2 seats. The CPI (M) won 2 seats, while the Congress bagged 4.
However, the BJP came up with a much-improved showing in the 2019 polls, winning 18 seats against the TMC's 22. The Congress's tally dropped to just 2 seats, while the Left scored a blank.
