Mamata Banerjee attacks PM Modi, Amit Shah for contradictory NRC views

Kolkata: Upping the ante against the BJP, a day after its ouster from power in Jharkhand, Chief Mamata Banerjee has advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to “shun arrogance and audacity” after getting “befitting replies” from the people for their dissent over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In a blistering attack on Modi and Shah over their contradictory statements on the implementation of the CAA and the NRC, the Chief Minister asked them to find out who spoke the truth.

She equated the BJP with Sections 420 and 144 for its politics of duplicity and restrictions.

“The minister says in Parliament that the NRC and the CAA would be enforced across the country. But the Prime Minister claims ‘We have not said this’. We say, each and every word we stated is in public domain from Parliament to the streets. Whatever you have stated is in the public domain also. Please find out who said what,” Banerjee said, referring to Modi and Shah.

Banerjee observed, “People have started giving befitting replies. First it was Maharashtra and now Jharkhand, where the party was dealt a severe jolt. The chandeliers of democracy are great indicators. If it is lit up, other lights become dim. Shun arrogance and audacity.”

She cautioned them, “BJP babus, be careful. Do not use a gun always. People do not need to be careful because they are waging a peaceful battle.”

Mocking Modi for his comment on the protesters’ identity by their “dress”, the Trinamul chief asked, “When has dress become the yardstick to establish identity? Can’t language and face be someone's identity?”

Countering BJP working president J.P. Nadda’s complaint of no law and order in West Bengal, the Chief Minister wondered about the existence of rule of law in Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states where, she claimed, the violent protesters were gunned down by the police.