Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav today met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and extended his support in her "fight against the communal forces".
Sending out a strong message to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday voiced his support to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in her "fight against the communal forces".
“We have an organisation here in Kolkata. Even if we have to compromise on certain areas we will support Didi in her fight against communal forces. Secular forces need to unite in such a fight because the communal parties have lied about a lot of things such as ‘digital India’, ‘notebandi’ and ‘GST’. Thus, I appeal to the secular forces of the country to unite and we will lend our support to them,” he said addressing a meeting at Mahajati Sadan auditorium in north Kolkata during the eighth state conference of the party.
He said that Bengal and Bihar had put up an impressive fight against the BJP and had managed to prevent it from growing here and that Bengal should send across the message to the country because in the past too several movements had been initiated in and led by Bengal.
At the conference, he also cried foul over the landslide victory of BJP at the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh. “BJP is saying that of the 16 municipal bodies, 14 was won by the BJP and two by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Congress and SP were not seen anywhere. What is interesting is that where election was conducted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) it was seen that the victory percentage of BJP was 46 per cent and where it was carried out through ballots, it was 15 per cent,” he said.
Akhilesh later met the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo at her residence in Kolkata.
"It is a courtesy visit. I always meet Didi (Mamata Banerjee) whenever I visit Kolkata. Didi's struggle is not hidden from anyone, and the Samajwadi Party stands with her in her fight against the communal forces here."
The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also lauded Banerjee for her work in West Bengal.
"Her secular battle and her work for the progress of Bengal is a huge work in my opinion," Yadav told reporters after meeting Banerjee in Kolkata.
"This is one region where major secular forces will join hands," he added.
Banerjee, in recent past, has taken the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre and the BJP head on and has emerged as a leading Opposition voice.
Earlier in August, Banerjee had launched 'BJP quit India' campaign and had said that the TMC would work with all opposition parties to oust the saffron party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
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