Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee – who took to the streets for three days in a row to protest the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), today said she will take the protests to Delhi and Punjab.
She warned the Centre today to not “underestimate” her. She said that the BJP leaders at the Centre may be bigwigs, “but we too exist, even if we are small in comparison”, she said. She referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments of yesterday saying he was “firm as rock” in the implementation of the CAA. Banerjee said: “Aap rock ke jaise khara rahiye, hum chuhe ki tarha kutush kutush kar-ke pura kaat dega,” Banerjee today said with sarcasm, in her broken Hindi that “You may be lofty and sturdy like mountain of rocks, but we too are like small mice, and we’ll destroy the mountain bit by bit”.
The Bengal CM said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had managed to clear the bill by sheer number of seats in both houses, but they must remember that they have come to power at the Centre with 38 per cent of votes, which meant that 62 per cent of people in the country were against them.
She accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of setting the country on fire. She was referring to Shah’s remark yesterday where he had said that there was no question of going back on implementing CAA, even if there were protests. Banerjee said, “You are not just a BJP leader, you are the home minister of the country. Your job is not to set the country on fire, but to douse it.” She said that before the BJP had come to power, there was no unrest in the country.
Her plan to take the movement to the country’s capital is significant on several counts. Delhi has already seen protests by students for the past few days, and Banerjee taking her movement to the capital will also make her movement find new impetus. Also, chief ministers of Delhi – Arvind Kejriwal – and Punjab – Amarinder Singh – have both opposed CAA. If Banerjee can take other opposition allies in the meeting that she is planning in Delhi, then her movement will gather more steam undoubtedly.
The Bengal CM has two public meetings lined up in the coming two days in Kolkata, after which she will hold a meeting with her party leaders to chalk out the next course of action.
The BJP’s slogan – Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (development for all) had now turned into Sabka Saath, Sabka Vinash (end for all) she said, as the party was trying to evict people from the country by CAA and NRC.
Banerjee again urged people to conduct protests in a peaceful and democratic way and not by blocking roads or causing inconvenience to common people.
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