Mamata Banerjee on warpath with govt, threatens to take her fight against Delhi

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday threatened to take her fight against BJP to Delhi, saying she would politically retaliate against her party's name being dragged into the Saradha scam.

She also attacked the BJP on the issue of bringing back black money to the country, threatening to tear off its 'mask'.

"We have tolerated enough and are forced to take to the streets. Lies are being spread about us. But Bengal's soil is so strong that if a sapling is sowed here, the tree will grow in Delhi," Banerjee said at the end of a rally held to protest against alleged CBI harassment of people in connection with the Saradha scam.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Srinjay Bose was arrested by the CBI in the Saradha case on Friday.

"I generally don't hold meetings blocking roads, but we had to do this one and if necessary, we will do it again and will do it in Delhi also," Banerjee said standing on a makeshift stage at Esplanade in the heart of the city.

"I don't know what you have done with others, but if you do anything wrong with Bengal, there won't be a bigger protesting voice than Bengal. You will be retaliated politically and democratically", she said.

"Who has bitten them? Royal Bengal Tiger has not gone yet, it has not been released yet, then who has bitten them," she said in a sarcastic note.

Slamming BJP on the issue of bringing back black money, she asked, "Where is the black money? Bring back the black money or else we will make you sit on black chairs and tear off your masks," Banerjee said.

She also claimed that "The BJP is spending thousands of crores on election campaigns. How did they get it?" she asked.

Earlier, speaking at a programme at Bongaon in North 24-Paragana district, she alleged, "There is a conspiracy going on against us. Let them do it. I will show them that no amount of conspiracy can thwart us from carrying out development work in the state".

"By hatching conspiracy they cannot emerge successful as we work for the people," she said.

"Why are you trying to taint the whole party or the government for the reason of one or two outsiders?" the TMC supremo asked the BJP leadership.

Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Banerjee said, "Six months in power, most of which are spent in foreign land, has he forgotten the country? Country is in selfies, and he is in foreign countries to sell off the country."

"100 per cent of railways, insurance, retail market, and even humans, pension and defence are being sold off," she alleged.

"He will get Nobel prize for selling off the country, but to satisfy whom I don't understand," she said.

Reiterating her allegation against Modi with regard to the Gujarat riots, Banerjee said, "you have taken a lot of blood in Gujarat, but spare Bengal. You have done a lot of riots, but we don't want riots here, we want to live in peace."

"Whenever elections come, the Bangladesh issue comes up," Banerjee said, adding, "whose issue is Bangladeshi infiltrators? Central government, it is your issue."

"How are Bangladeshis becoming Indian citizens, it is the Centre's issue," Banerjee said claiming that the BJP was spreading lies about the TMC government that it was going soft on Bangladeshi infiltrators and that many passport holders are staying back after expiry of visa period.

She said it was Centre's responsibility to guard the international borders, saying "border is under BSF, central police, SSB, RAW, Army and the ITBP. The state police doesn't man the border".

"Why have you not fenced the border? We want smuggling to stop, but if your men allow this for bribes, what can we do," she said.

"We are standing here in the open, arrest us all if that satisfies you, prepare the jail. Corruption has not reached the soil of Bengal, people here are honest," Banerjee said.

Accusing the BJP-ruled government of political vendetta, she said, "What you are doing is cutting the branch on which you are sitting, this is neither good for the people nor the country and not for your image also."

Standing on a makeshift stage she referred to her days in the opposition against the Left Front, saying "This is the place where I fasted for 26 days, this is the place where I protested for 21 days for people's rights. This is the place where 13 of our youths were shot dead by a section of the police. This is the place where we have struggled for 35 years and are still fighting."