The law should be the same for everybody, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Polo Ground in Asansol today without naming BJP’s Nupur Sharma and condemning the arrests of social activist Teesta Setalvad and Alt News journalist Mohammad Zubair in the past few days.

Even the world is condemning their arrests and sending a bad message to the international community, she said.

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“BJP runs fake news and false propaganda and social media, but no action is taken against them. A BJP leader has spread religious hatred on a TV programme, but instead of arresting her the centre has provided security to her. But I will not spare her and already our police have summoned her and a case has been lodged,” the chief minister said without uttering the name of Nupur Sharma, the former BJP national spokesperson.

“I salute the Maulana sahab of Asansol, whose son was killed, but he pardoned the killers in court and did not support riots,” said the CM.

Can anybody imagine a political party setting up a palatial party headquarters in New Delhi at a whopping cost of Rs 1,100 crore but neither the CBI, nor the ED or Income Tax officials have investigated the source of the huge investments, she alleged. Even there has been no audit of the PM Cares Fund and neither the central agencies has started any probe so far.

All the central agencies are pointing their guns at the opposition parties and their leaders, she claimed.

Agnipath is a scam in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Recently, all state governments received a letter from an army colonel, who urged them to prepare a data of the Agniveers after their four years’ tenure is complete and absorb them in the state government service, Mamata Banerjee claimed.

“Why should a state government clean the garbage of the BJP government? They will be all BJP cadres. Instead, we will give jobs to freshers. The Narendra Modi government will release them after the 2024 polls. We demand full-time service in the defence sector and the army jawans should get pensions after retirement. The central government has claimed to deposit Rs 15 lakh cash to all citizens before the 2014 polls and this Agnipath scheme is also a similar false promise,” the CM said.

The CM claimed that the state government is eager to provide jobs to primary teachers but due to the running court cases, unable to do anything. The Bengal government has given job to nurse Renu Khatoon, whose husband chopped off her right arm.

Even the 10 family members of the victims in Bagtui village in Birbhum have been provided full-time government jobs from her quota and houses have been redeveloped.

The rate of unemployment in India at present is over 40 per cent and the rate of employment in Bengal is 40 per cent. One lakh people will get a job in the world’s second largest coal mine in Deucha Pachami in Birbhum district, she said.

“But the biggest news is that India’s first commercial exploration of shale gas will start in Raniganj coalfields. Modi Group’s Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL) will invest Rs 15,000 crore and has already inked a deal with the state government. Essar Group will also invest Rs 7,000 crore in another shale gas project in Durgapur. The combined investment of Rs 22,000 crore in Asansol-Durgapur will provide employment opportunities to several thousands of people,” she said.

The proposed Dankuni-Ludhiana dedicated freight corridor will attract more investments, as will the Rs 72,000 crore Jungle Sundari Karmo Nagori, upon 2,500-acre land in Raghunathpur in Purulia and Bantala leather complex, the CM said.

This is the first visit by her after the Asansol Lok Sabha by-election. “I have come to thank the people, who blessed us so much that Shatrughan Sinha ji won by a margin of over three lakh votes and sent a TMC candidate for the first time to Lok Sabha from Asansol,” Mamata said.