Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday appealed to opposition parties across the country to come together against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), days after her party suffered a massive defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Addressing a gathering near her residence in Kalighat during celebrations marking the birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Banerjee said the current political atmosphere in Bengal demanded a united resistance.
“A reign of terror has begun. In such a scenario, I urge all opposition parties in Bengal, the student organisations and the NGOs to unite against BJP. A united platform can be created where all political parties that are against BJP should unite. Along with the national parties, I would urge the Leftists and the ultra-Leftists to unite in Bengal as well in Delhi. If any political party wants to speak to me in this regard, I am available to discuss the matter. It needs to be remembered that our first enemy is the BJP,” Banerjee said.
TMC preparing legal fight after poll defeat
The appeal came on the same day the first BJP government in West Bengal was sworn in at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground. Around four kilometres away, Banerjee held a smaller programme in Kalighat.
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Referring to the post-election developments, Banerjee indicated that her party was preparing to challenge the outcome legally.
“Don’t worry. We will fight this battle. Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi have also called me. Along with them, Prashant Bhushan and Menaka Guruswamy are also there with us in this battle. I am a lawyer myself. We have several other leaders like Kalyan Banerjee who will fight this battle. We know how to fight,” she said.
Banerjee also alleged that facilities available to her as chief minister had been withdrawn soon after the change in government. She claimed her cellular services were discontinued and permissions for Tagore birth anniversary events in Kalighat were restricted to only three locations.
Opposition leaders reached out, says Mamata
The TMC supremo further said several national opposition leaders had contacted her after the election results.
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“All national leaders of the opposition have contacted me. I have spoken to Sonia ji, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge ji, Uddhav Thackeray & Tejashwi Yadav. Akhilesh Yadav himself came here. I have also spoken to Hemant Soren and Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.
The BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the TMC secured 80 seats. Banerjee has repeatedly alleged that the BJP, Election Commission of India and CAPF influenced the counting process.
Earlier in the day, Banerjee also updated the bio on her social media profile, changing it from “Chief Minister of West Bengal” to “Chief Minister of West Bengal (15th, 16th and 17th Vidhan Sabha).”
Responding to her remarks, BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the party was focused on governance and development rather than political confrontation.
