Mamata Banerjee stepped up her assault on the BJP today, challenging whether the Election Commission’s decision to suspend her security chief was part of a plot to assassinate her. Amit Shah, the Union home minister, has been blamed for the BJP’s success in Bengal.
She said, “Will the Union home minister run the country or hatch a conspiracy to harass us in Bengal? Is the BJP hatching conspiracy to kill me? They have even removed my director of security”.
“What does Amit Shah think of himself? You will use brute force to shut everything? You can’t get crowds to your meeting, that’s why you are using force. You are creating conspiracies. You don’t allow the press to speak. You have shut their mouths,” Ms. Banerjee said. She’s speaking from her wheelchair at an election rally in Mejia, Bankura district.
Mr. Shah’s rally in Jhargram district yesterday was suspended, according to the Chief Minister’s Trinamool Congress party, not because of a technological glitch, but because of low attendance.
What Mamata Said About Election Commission:
“Will the Home Minister run the country or is he sitting in Kolkata and hatching conspiracies? Where someone will be arrested, where someone will be beaten or where agencies will get behind people? Industrialists are being raided and now even the Home Secretary has been raided. I want to ask the Election Commission to look into this. Why are government officers being harassed during elections? Why are political people being harassed? Those who led the farmers’ agitation in Nandigram are being issued warrants. Will everyone who took part in Nandigram and Singur agitations faces notices?” she said in one of her sharpest attacks on the home minister.
“I am asking with respect to the Election Commission. Who is running the Election Commission? Amit Shah, are you running it? This is a question I have. We want a free and fair election but who is Amit Shah? Who is he to guide the election commission? He is interfering in the day-to-day work of the commission. And this is working against us. My security in-charge has also been removed. What do they want? Do they want to kill me?” she said.
The poll body has detained Vivek Sahay, the Chief Minister’s security in-charge after the Chief Minister was wounded in Nandigram last week.
The Commission had dismissed the Trinamool Congress’ argument that an attempt on her life occurred after the party took over the state police force.
