On Friday, Mamata Banerjee penned an emotional poem blaming the BJP for the violence during the poll and apologised to Vidyasagar saying ‘we are deeply ashamed’.
On Friday, Mamata Banerjee penned an emotional poem blaming the BJP for the violence during the poll and apologised to Vidyasagar saying ‘we are deeply ashamed’.
Kolkata witnessed widespread violence on Tuesday at BJP president Amit Shah's massive road show in the city. A bust of 19th century Bengali reformer and polymath Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was desecrated during clashes.
Read her poem below:
You have learnt to destruct, not create
Destruction is your work
You have to stop for destruction, you have no shame
When your hands and legs are broken, they can be mended
There are no fixes for heart break
Mother doesn't fade away, even if her life ends
You are playing with tradition, don't fiddle with Bengal
Bengal's freedom comes from its cultural awakening
Don't ignore it
You have the power of money and we have heart filled with respect
Hey Vidyasagar, we are deeply ashamed
We have no guts to say sorry
1. "Only PM Modi has the right to hold rallies and meetings'
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Amidst ongoing political slugfest in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday questioned if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only one who has the right to hold public rallies and meetings in the state.
"Only PM Modi has the right to hold rallies and meetings in the state, no one else? Did any sort of security issue happen to him? Then why they (EC) stopped the meeting for us?," Banerjee asked while expressing her discontentment over the Election Commission's decision to cut short the campaign period in the state.
Further, she said that the proposed public meeting of PM Narendra that is slated to be held in Mathurapur is four kilometres away from the place that she held the public meeting.
"PM Modi's rally is four kilometres away. Why do they think only prime ministers security is important and not others?", she asked.
2. 'Why did they stop the election campaign?'
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Questioning her rights under the federal system of governance she said, "Why did they stop the election campaign? What do they think, whatever the Election Commission says, that'll happen? Don't we have any right to hold meetings in this country?
Her comments came hours after the Special Protection Group (SPG) has written a letter to West Bengal DGP raising questions regarding PM Modi's security at his proposed public meeting in Mathurapur later today.
After violence was reported during Shah's roadshow in Kolkata, the EC on Wednesday decided to cut short the campaign period in the state.
Elections to 33 seats have taken place in West Bengal in the first six phases of elections. The remaining nine seats will go to polls on May 19 in the last round with the counting set to take place on May 23.
3. Mukul Roy says party will obey EC's decision
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BJP leader Mukul Roy on Wednesday said that his party will obey the Election Commission's decision to cut short the campaign period in West Bengal by a day for the final phase of Lok Sabha elections.
"There is a political crisis in Bengal. EC takes special decisions when it feels the need. No violence was reported anywhere in the country during these Lok Sabha elections other than Bengal. EC took a decision that within 24 hours campaigning should be ended. We, the opposition will suffer the most. Yet, we will obey it," Roy said while addressing a press conference here.
4. 'No election campaigning'
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Earlier, Deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan Kumar told media, "No election campaigning to be held in nine parliamentary constituencies of West Bengal, namely Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Jadavpur, Diamond Harbour, South and North Kolkata, from 10 pm tomorrow till the conclusion of polls."
Campaigning was originally scheduled to end at 5 pm on Friday for the nine constituencies that will go to polls on May 19.
Roy termed the violence at BJP president Amit Shah's roadshow 'criminal conspiracy' by West Bengal Chief Minister.
"Yesterday's incident was a criminal conspiracy by her (Mamata). The Chief Minister must answer. She said that there was no violence in Bengal. Did she forget Panchayat elections? Remember how people were stopped from casting their vote," he said.
5. 'Vidyasagar doesn't belong to just Bengal'
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Hitting back at Mamata's allegations that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's statue was vandalised during Shah's roadshow, Roy said, "Vidyasagar does not only belong to Bengal as he is an international figure. They should not drag a figure like Vidyasagar into politics."
The BJP leader also questioned whether Banerjee has permission to hold rallies."Does the Chief Minister have permission for her rallies? he asked.
Snubbing the allegations that Centre is against former Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar because the cop has evidence against him, Roy said, "If she could prove any complaints against me, I will quit politics forever," he said.
