Kolkata: Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday fired a warning apparently to her chief political rival BJP, which has been demanding the West Bengal chief minister’s resignation over the rape and murder of a junior doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College & Hospital.
Reiterating her demand for the accused to be hanged and charging the saffron party of politicising the issue to wrest power in the state, Mamata said that the unrest in West Bengal could have far-reaching consequences well beyond the state.
“Remember if Bengal is burned, then Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Delhi will also be burned,” the CM said at a rally to mark the foundation day of Trinamool Congress’ students wing on Wednesday.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma countered Mamata by saying, “Didi, how dare you threaten Assam? Don’t show us red eyes. Don’t even try to burn India with your politics of failure. It does not befit you to speak divisive language.”
BJP’s state president and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar said Mamata’s statement is a “clear attempt to threaten, incite violence, and sow hatred among the people.”
“She no longer deserves to hold such an important position. Mamata Banerjee must resign immediately,” he added in a post on X.
BJP also pounced on Mamata’s endorsement of ‘revenge politics.
After the Bengal CM said, “I never sought revenge, but now, do what needs to be done”, Majumdar wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah that Mamata advocated violence in public.
“CM Mamata Banerjee during her address to the Student Wing of TMC today in Kolkata shamelessly incited the gathering, declaring, ‘I never sought revenge, but now, do what needs to be done.’ This is nothing less than a blatant endorsement of revenge politics from the highest office in the state,” Majumdar wrote.
Intensifying its demand for the CM’s resignation, Majumdar stated that such “anti-national comments isn’t the voice of someone holding a constitutional position,” and urged the Union Home minister to “take cognizance of this serious matter and initiate appropriate actions to address the situation and uphold the rule of law and maintain public order.”
BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya said Mamata has declared war on the people of Bengal.
“A cornered Mamata Banerjee has declared war on the people of West Bengal, who are holding her to account in the brutal rape and murder of a young lady doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital. The deceased could have been our sister or daughter but Mamata wants more blood… Once a proponent of the ‘Bodol noy, Bodla Chai’ mantra, Mamata Banerjee now brazenly shifted her stance, openly calling for the very vengeance, she once purported to abhor,” Malviya tweeted.
Union minister Piyush Goyal slammed Mamata, saying, “A call to violence by an elected Chief Minister is the greatest betrayal of the people’s mandate!”
