Chief minister Mamata Banerjee today launched her tirade against Prime minister Narendra Modi and said soon India will be named after him.

Miss Banerjee led a massive march from College Square to Dorina Crossing on International Women’s Day ahead of Assembly polls which begins on 27 March.

In Siliguri, she had decried rising fuel and LPG prices and today her rally centred around women empowerment. Out of a total of 7.2 crore voters, women comprise almost half or 3.5 crore. In the recently declared candidates’ list, she has included 50 women candidates and as her trait has always exhorted the participation of women in politics. Incidentally, the party has one of the highest numbers of women parliamentarians where 41 per cent of their 22 MPs are women, whereas BJP has only two. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the participation rate of women in the state was as high as 81.7 per cent, which is the best among major states in the country.

Taking a dig at Modi, she said he has his photo on vaccine certificates, renames Sardar Vallabhai Patel stadium after him and even ISRO missiles also carry his photo and one day he will change the country’s name after him.

She said, “Bengali women are known across the world for their free spirit, for speaking their minds and for leading revolutions”. On International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, TMC women cell in presence of Miss Banerjee took an oath to reject BJP’s fascist regime, a party that has unleashed their agonising reign on women across the country.

The sea of women on the streets sloganeering against the BJP’s anti-woman rule is resonating strongly in the digital space as well with the #GarjeNaari. Bengal in both physical and digital space celebrates the indomitable spirit of women.

The chief minister said she gives highest priority to women safety and that should be uncompromising.

She said, “I haven’t seen a Prime minister speaking such lies. He should have respect for the chair. He said women are not safe in West Bengal. Women in West Bengal moves about freely in wee hours, dead at night but this is not possible in Modi, Shah’s own Gujarat and UP.”

She said in Gujarat there are cases of murder and rape in almost every month in cities like Ahmedabad but of course UP tops the list.

She also thanked all those who have participated in the rally. She said, “Girls are our pride. Our prime responsibility is to protect women. We will not let anyone insult women. If mothers didn’t run the house there would be no family. Women are everything. All mothers have come together and this is the biggest strength.”

Senior party leaders Chandrima Bhattacharyaa and Mala Roy joined the march. Among others, actors and now TMC candidates June Maliya, Saayoni Ghosh, Sayantika Banerjee, Koushani Mukherjee were also seen taking part in the rally.

Women not safe in Bengal:

Locket BJP MP and party’s state general secretary Locket Chatterjee today said chief minister and her government suppressed data on crimes against women in West Bengal and refused to share data with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Addressing a Press conference at party’s election office at Hastings, she said a few days back, Union home minister Amit Shah, who was flooded with complaints about series of crimes against women including rape, murder, women trafficking and molestation in West Bengal sought a report from the state which refused to file data on crimes against women. “Miss Banerjee because of election has launched Banglar meye and celebrating International Women Day. But her police refused to take complaint against rape, molestation and women trafficking, whenever victims approached police. On Miss Banerjee’s instructions, police refuse to register complaints against rape and molestation,” she said.