December 6, 2010
Mamata gives clarion call
Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee gave a clarion call at a rally in Burdwan town on Sunday, accusing the CPM of unleashing a wave of bloodshed, and asking people to put up a brave front before the Election Commission “takes charge of the state†in five days. With the state elections slated for next year, the Election Commission will assume its role as a monitor of the state administration in a few days from now. Mamata’s 50-minute speech at the anti-terror rally was full of dire predictions for the CPM. “There is no law and order in Burdwan at present. But once the Election Commission takes charge, police will not be able to carry out the directives of their political bosses in Alimuddin Street. From Mangalkote to Raina, CPM will be wiped out completely,†she told the cheering, 1,00,000-plus crowd at the rally at Burdwan maidan. “Burdwan was once a CPM stronghold, but things have changed fast since the Lok Sabha polls. Do not hand CPM a single seat in the assembly polls,†she urged the crowd. She also countered the chief minister’s charge that Trinamool was hand-in-glove with the Maoists in Jangalmahal. “How many seats did we win in Jangalmahal in the Lok Sabha polls and how many did the CPM win outside Jangalmahal? Had the Maoists been our friends we should have won the seats in Jangalmahal, which shows who has links with the rebels,†she thundered. Mamata also made a pitch for development, claiming that CPM had done little for the state in three decades of rule. “Who prevented the CPM from working for the progress of the state in 35 years? I have only one ministry now. Give me an opportunity, and I’ll show you what I can do for the state with a cabinet of 40 ministers in five years,†she said. Mamata also brought the family members of those killed in the recent violence in Raina and Mangalkote on stage. She urged the kids to study hard and asked party leaders to make sure that the families did not suffer. “The police did not use water cannons, rubber bullets or teargas shells to keep the mob at bay in Jyotsadi village in Raina. Neither did they aim below the waist while firing. Police seem to have learnt no lessons from Nandigram,†she said. If Raina police station OC Sadhan Banerjee was not arrested within 15 days, Trinamool activists would gherao the Burdwan SP’s office and stop work, she threatened.
Courtesy: The Times of India
Image Courtesy: Sambad Pratidin
