Speaking on the first day of the Assembly after returning to power for the third time in a row, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday stroked a major controversy by accusing the Election Commission of India of directly helping the BJP during the recently-concluded Assembly polls in the state, in which the Trinamool Congress cruised to a landslide victory.
She also alleged that unable to accept the mandate of the people, the saffron brigade was inciting violence in the state.
“I can challenge that had the Election Commission not helped them (BJP) directly, they would not have won even 30 seats. In this election, rigging took place in some places under the watch of the poll panel. There should be electoral reforms made immediately, else the democratic fabric of the country will be jeopardised,” Banerjee said during her speech on the floor of the Assembly, where Biman Banerjee was elected the Speaker for the third straight terms.
Warning stern action against the BJP for ‘inciting’ violence in the state, the Chief Minister said, “For the last six months, they have not done anything but pushing the country to the brink of destruction. They had only one target and that was to capture Bengal and now they (BJP) cannot accept the mandate of the common man. So they are trying to incite violence in the state and are posting fake videos.”
The Chief Minister also directed the administration to take stern action against anyone trying to fan communal tension in the state.
“Do not compromise, take stern action against people talking on communal lines as per the law, be it me or anyone else,” she said.
Banerjee also attacked the Centre and said that in the last six months, it did no work and only tried to capture Bengal and travelled to the state every day, thus pushing the country to the threshold of a health crisis.
“To set up a double-engine, they pushed India to the threshold of Covid-19 destruction. In the last six months, the Central government did no work, but came to Bengal everyday to capture it,” she said, adding that the central forces are roaming around in the state without undergoing any RT-PCR tests, thus spreading the infection.
A host of Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, besides the party’s top leadership, were seen canvassing in West Bengal in the run-up to the high-octane Assembly elections.
Banerjee also reiterated the demand for universal vaccination, stating that it should have been the priority of the Centre, but instead the government is spending Rs 50,000 crore on the new Parliament building, PM’s residence and statues, among other things.
The opposition BJP legislators boycotted the House proceedings protesting against the killing of their party workers in the post-poll violence in the state.