West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out against INDIA bloc allies Congress and CPM, saying they are “BJP agents” in the country. “Some say, we are INDIA, vote for us. India is not here, it belongs to Delhi. Congress and CPM are not INDIA here. They are BJP. One vote for them means two votes for BJP. Don’t even cast a vote [for them],” she added.
“We will lead the Opposition alliance INDIA in the coming days. But in Bengal, CPM and Congress are agents of the BJP. So I will not support them here,” she said while speaking at a rally in Murshidabad. The TMC is also part of the INDIA bloc, however, Mamata chose to fight the elections alone in West Bengal without any alliance.
Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPIM state secretary Md Salim are contesting from Berhampore and Murshidabad Lok Sabha constituencies respectively. Banerjee urged migrant workers present in their home state of West Bengal for Eid celebrations to vote in the ongoing elections before returning to work.
She warned people that the BJP-led government would take away their Aadhar card and citizenship if they returned to power at the Centre. “I would like to request all the migrant workers who have come here to celebrate Eid please don’t go back without voting because if you don’t vote in the coming days, they will take away your Aadhar card and your citizenship,” she added.
Banerjee said the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are nothing less than a “second battle for the country’s independence,” as BJP’s return to power for the third consecutive term would endanger the existence of the constitution and democracy.