Mathurapur: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Election Commission on Thursday, stating it had sold out to its brother the BJP.
“I feel sad but I don't have anything more to say, I am ready to go to jail for saying this. I am not scared to say the truth,” Mamata said.
Mamata’s fiery response came a day after the election Commission curtailed campaigning in Bengal by nearly 20 hours. Campaign in the state – that has one final phase left on Sunday – will be stopped at 10 pm on Thursday instead of 6 pm on Friday.
The poll body took this decision after BJP filed a complaint of violence against Trinamool workers on Wednesday evening. Just a few hours before, a pitched street battle had broken out in the heart of Kolkata during an Amit Shah rally. The ensuing vandalism claimed the bust of 19th Century reformer and educationist Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
“Th Election Commission did not want us to hold any more rallies after Narendra Modi had finished his in the state. It used to be a neutral body before,” Mamata told supporters in Mathurapur.
To make up for the shortened time, Mamata has packed Thursday with two rallies and roadshows.
''Vandalising statues is a habit of the BJP. The party has done so in Tripura too,” Mamata said.
Hours after Modi announced to rebuild a grand statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar at the same spot, Mamata refused to take the obligation.
''Why should we take their money, Bengal has enough,'' she said.
She further said the BJP had posted fake videos of the violence on social media to instigate people, and cause riots. She added: “BJP destroyed a 200-year-old heritage of West Bengal. Those supporting the party will not be accepted by society.”
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