Mamata rips into Centre; calls BJP a ‘riot-fed party’

KOLKATA: Buoyed by a human tide at Esplanade, Mamata Banerjee announced confidently that her party is going to come to power in the assembly polls next year — all on its own. In an hour-long speech, peppered with numbers and Didi-isms, the Trinamool Congress supremo issued a stern warning to party factions that are at war over illegal quarrying and supply syndicates.
“Next year there is an election. I apologize because we couldn’t give everyone space here today, but on July 21, 2016, we will break all records.Come July 21, 2016, we will celebrate people’s brigade at the Brigade Parade Grounds,” Mamata thundered, as lakhs of supporters packed every inch of the Esplanade area. With just months to go for the 2016 assembly polls, the Trinamool chief has started distancing herself from BJP with an eye on the minority votebank that holds the key to as many as 125 of the 294 assembly seats.
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Mamata trains gun on ‘communal’ BJP
She dismissed the Opposition — CPM, Congress and BJP — as Ha-ja-ba-ra-la (insignificant), taking off from Sukumar Ray’s ‘Nonsense Story’. “The more they challenge the Trinamool government, the fewer seats they will get,” said Mamata. She singled out BJP.

TMC support and activities come from different part for Mamata Banerjee's rally in Kolkata. (TOI photo by Subhojyoti Kanjilal)
She dismissed the Opposition — CPM, Congress and BJP — as Ha-ja-ba-ra-la (insignificant), taking off from Sukumar Ray’s ‘Nonsense Story’. “The more they challenge the Trinamool government, the fewer seats they will get,” said Mamata. She singled out BJP, and said “We didn’t bow our head to CPM tyranny. Now a riot-fed party, with charges of corruption, is trying to teach us a lesson on corruption. People in Bengal are averse to riots. They (the saffronites) have no place in Bengal. Earlier we fought CPM. Now our movement is directed against the Centre,” Mamata said. Seemingly targeting other Opposition parties as well, she added: “We are for peace. A party from New Delhi is spreading canards. They are spreading communal poison in Bengal. These parties do not have any ideology, nor do they a political philosophy. They do not know Bengal. I can only pray to God and Allah to forgive them. Murder for a murder, riot for riot doesn’t define Trinamool politics.”
Didi attacks ‘Beti Bachao’ scheme
As if to make it clear that her sharing the dais with Narendra Modi or throwing a lifeline to the Modi government in Rajya Sabha was not the last word, Mamata took a dig at the Centre’s “beti bachao” programme. “We have allotted Rs 1,000 crore for our Kanyashree project. The Centre’s allocation for a similar project is a mere Rs 150 crore, of which Rs 50 crore has been spent on publicity. What sort of a programme is this? Is it beti bachao or beti hatao?”.
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Mamata said development would be Trinamool’s poll plank in 2016. “Let CPM, Congress and BJP come together. We will fight alone with our head held high. These parties don’t have the strength to fight. They do not have will to build something. CPM was in power for 35 years. What did it do?,” Mamata said, and reeled off a list of projects her government has launched. “Our performance is the best in the country. When we come to power next time, Bengal will lead the country’s development model,” said Mamata.
What bothers her is a section of her own partymen. “Some individuals are resorting to factionalism. The party won’t tolerate such indiscipline,” the Trinamool chief said.