Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today made a strident attack against the Modi government, accusing it of dividing people on religious lines, telling "lies" and gagging the voice of opponents which had resulted in a situation worst than Emergency.
Hitting the streets in protest against the controversial land ordinance, the Trinamool Congress chief said that instead of providing good governance the Modi government was "giving indulgence to communal violence".
During the course of her fiery speech at the rally, Banerjee also mocked at 'Mann Ki Baat', a radio programme hosted by Modi where he speaks to listeners in an informal manner. She said nobody knows whose mind is the prime minister speaking.
"All the time they are giving lectures. Maan ki Baat( from the heart) patahi nahi hain kiska baat. Doodarshan ab ban gaya BJP darshan.
Dimag hi nahi hain to dimag chalega kaise. (They are doing Maan ki Baat. Nobody knows whose mind they are speaking of. Doordarshan has now become BJP darshan. If there is no brain, how will you use it?)" she said while breaking into Hindi during TMC's protest rally which she addressed in Bengali.
Banerjee made it clear that her party was firmly against the land ordinance. "We are against this land ordinance. We have made our
position clear and will stick to our stand that there should be no forcible land acquisition," she said.
Taking stock of the BJP government's performance, Banerjee said, "After about one year, if you go through its list of acheivements, it is empty. They are only engaged in clicking selfies, giving indulgence to communal violence and dividing the people on religious lines. They are only telling lies," she said.
In an obvious reference to CBI sending notice to TMC seeking details of the party's accounts, Banerjee said, "Those who are thieves themselves are asking for accounts".
"If you want my party's account go and take it from income tax. Instead of that you are sending me notice. Notices will pile up and we will send it back to you. You have come to power and are sending me notices, tomorrow you will not be in power. The people will send you notice," she said.
"I will speak hundred times against the forcible land acquisition. If you think that by sending notices you can shut my mouth, then you are wrong," she thundered. Accusing Modi government of "gagging the voice of those who criticised it", she said, "Congress had promulgatedEmergency. Now it is more than Emergency in the country. The doors for the journalists have been closed. They have
stopped everything".
"If anybody raises voice against it (Modi govt), his voice is gagged. He is intimidated with either CBI or ED or NIA or BSF," Banerjee said.
